


Opportunity Knocks

by lizwuzthere



Series: Season 2 AU [1]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-23 06:23:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/619056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizwuzthere/pseuds/lizwuzthere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><div class="center">
  <p> </p>
  <p>    <img/></p>
</div>Primeverse, AU timeline after Toxicity; Knockout discovers the Autobots' virus and he knows Soundwave introduced it... but Soundwave doesn't plan on giving him the chance to tell anyone else- Now Knockout's only chance of escaping the Nemesis with his spark intact depends on how well he can work with the Autobots and their human friend, Jack.
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For this story I tried pretty hard to keep everyone in character and make it mostly dialogue and action driven… Y’know so it’d be more like an actual episode.  
> That’s all. Enjoy!
> 
> Thoughts and criticisms are encouraged and appreciated.

"I already told you, I don't know what time I'll be home."

" _Okay Jack, but just call me when you're on your way so I know you're_ -"

"Mom! I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than you should _._ "

" _Well, I just want to make sure you don't do anything too dangerous._ "

"Mom we've been over this! It was _just_ New York."

" _In the subway tunnels, which_ also _happened to be crawling with_ Decepticons _at the time! Plus, Arcee mentioned you actually hit one of them with a train?!_ "

"What? Arcee, you told her about that?" Jack glared down at the Autobot. Arcee's plating shuffled irritably in response. She didn't say anything, instead opting to stay focused on driving.

The pair were on the desert road just outside of Jasper and coming close to the Autobot base. Jack had been busy arguing with June on his headset since he'd gotten off his shift at KO burger. His yelling at Arcee had been the first complete sentence he had directed at her since she'd picked him up.

Rather than let Jack continue to snap at Arcee, June went ahead and answered for her, "Yes _she told me, because Arcee is actually a responsible guardian._ " There was a moment's pause as June sighed heavily, " _Jack… just… no more missions for awhile, okay? I worry enough without you being-_ "

"What's that mom? I think….. breaking up…. I… entering base-"

" _What?! Are you riding Arcee_ _while talking on your phone?! Jackson Darby don't you_ dare _hang up on-_ " Jack quickly pressed a button on his phone ending the call before she could finish.

"Jack! We haven't entered the signal dampeners around the base yet." Arcee scolded, "You shouldn't hang up on your mom like that. She's just worried about you."

"I know." Jack sighed, "But she's been kind of unbearable lately… I mean, she called me three times during my shift today. That's overkill even for her." As he spoke the two pulled through the entrance of the base and into the main room. Jack took off his helmet as he dismounted Arcee and she transformed into her robot mode.

"Well regardless, don't expect me to lie to your mom just to cover for you." Arcee grumbled, crossing her arms across her chassis, "She's trusting me with your protection, after all."

"Maybe it's you bots protecting us humans most of the time, but sometimes you need us to look out for you too." Jack reasoned, "I mean, we wouldn't have even gotten those coordinates if us humans hadn't snuck onto the 'Cons ship."

"What's your point?"

"My point is, _that's_ why I didn't want to promise my mom _no more missions._ " Jack continued, "I know it can be dangerous, but that's not gonna stop me from doing what's right."

"What's going on, now?" Jack looked over at Miko. She was by the medical table where Ratchet was standing over Bulkhead, "Is your mom peeved at you or something, Jack?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it, Miko." Jack waved her question away and climbed up the ladder towards the couch where Raf was stationed with his laptop.

Arcee turned away from him and headed over to Ratchet, "So how's the patient today, doctor?" she asked.

"Good news."Ratchet lowered his scanner with half a smile cracked on his face, "Bulkhead is well on his way to recovery."

The green Autobot groaned as he rolled over and tried to get off the examining table. "Thanks, doc! I'm sure not feelin' it though." He started reaching back to scratch at the still burned scar on his back where the Insecticon, Hardshell, had blasted him just two days ago. Ratchet slapped his servo away.

"Slow down, Bulk. You may be all patched up but recovery still takes time." he continued as he gently pushed Bulkhead back down into a sitting position, "You were exposed to that Tox-En for a prolonged period, after all. You'll have to take it easy until we can be sure it hasn't adversely affected your healing process."

"No worries, Ratchet!" the doctor looked down at Miko who was standing by their feet. She smacked her fist on Bulkhead's massive ankle with a resounding CLANG and smiled, "I'll be right by his side to make sure the big lug doesn't go messing up your handiwork!"

Ratchet let out a low scoff and was about to make a snarky comment, but he was interrupted by a voice behind him. "Autobots-" The attention in the room quickly turned to Optimus who stood in front of the computer dashboard. On the screen were projected the archives of the Iacon database, the forefront of which was a line of coordinates written out in Cybertronian. He turned around to face the other bots, "I have managed to decode the next set of coordinates from the database."

"Alright!" Bulkhead shouted, standing and transforming his arm into a wrecking ball, "Let's go digging for some ancient treasure!"

"BULKHEAD! What did I _just_ get finished saying to you?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." he mumbled sitting back down.

Arcee stepped forward. "Don't worry, Bulk. Bee and I have got this one." she said. To which Bumblebee added a few choice clicks and whirrs, which somehow managed a chuckle out of Raf.

Optimus turned back to look at the coordinates displayed on the screen along with some of the database, "I will remain here to continue decoding the archives." he said, "The Decepticons do not yet know that we have obtained the database, and they lack considerable means of deciphering them as quickly as we do-"

"And the Decepticons have no way of detecting the Autobot frequency given off by unearthed relics." Ratchet interrupted, "They'll never know that the next set of coordinates they're working on will have already been found by us."

"Low-risk mission then?" Arcee continued.

"Indeed."

"Ha ha! Boy, would I like to see their faces when they get there to realize the relic is already gone!" Bulkhead laughed.

"It's nice to have an advantage for once." Jack chimed in, "So… Mind if I tag along?"

Arcee groaned uncertainly, "Jack. Your mom said-"

"But you just said yourself it's low-risk." Jack interrupted, "Come on, Arcee. It'll be a relief to go on a mission where the 'Cons aren't about to show up."

Arcee continued to look sternly at Jack and seemed about to retort, but before she could Bumblebee looked to Raf:

" _BEEPboopbzzzzRRRRRTTT?_ "

"Sure, Bee!" Raf replied as he closed his laptop, "And maybe we can race cars together afterwards." Bee responded with a happy whirr and a thumbs up.

" _Fine._ " Arcee groaned, "But only because there's no danger… and… don't tell your mom I let you do this."

Jack laughed as he slid down the ladder to the ground, "Oh really? So who's lying to cover for who here?"

* * *

"Apparently it's pretty devastating too. Took down an Autobot with just a short, close-range blast!"

"Whoa. That _is_ impressive."

"Well, Soundwave's a pretty amazing bot. I heard he was the only one to even come back with a relic."

"Really? But didn't Lord Megatron send out three other teams? You're telling me they all fell short?"

Knockout looked up from the repairs he was making to the two Vehicons standing just outside his laboratory. "DON'T YOU TWO HAVE SOME WORK OR SOMETHING?!" he snapped irritably.

The drones each jumped in surprise and, both apologizing profusely, scampered off in different directions. Knockout glared out the doorway as they disappeared from view then slowly turned back to the work in front of him: Soundwave's cracked visor.

"You think you're _sooo_ great, don't you?" he found himself mumbling, "Seems like everyone thinks their amazing communications officer can do no wrong…" Knockout continued hastily applying the last adjustments to the inner electrodes before sliding the replacement cover glass on top. Then he held it up to inspect the repairs, "Well you had better hope so, because _I'll_ be there if you do. And we'll see if you're still in Lord Megatron's favor then _._ "

It was pointless muttering to himself. Knockout didn't believe Soundwave was even capable of screwing up. Not even a little… and especially not enough to cause Megatron to turn on him. Soundwave's contributions to the Decepticon cause were innumerable, his loyalty to Megatron unquestionable, and his power the stuff of legends. _Ugh_. It made Knockout feel like reversing his intake manifold just thinking about how _perfect_ the faceless 'Con was.

He lowered the screen with a discouraged sigh and, giving it a quick twirl in his servos, left the lab and headed for the data archives where Soundwave was working on decoding Project Iacon. As he approached, the door slid open and he headed inside.

"Soundwave, I have- OH." Knockout paused in the doorway. Before him, Soundwave stood facing the computer typing away with his servos and tentacles, but looking up at the projection along side him was Lord Megatron. The Decepticon leader looked back as Knockout entered the room, there was an apparent look of disapproval in his glare.

"Ah, Knockout." He said, "I see you've _finally_ finished repairing Soundwave's visor?"

"Uh, indeed… Lord Megatron." Knockout muttered grasping tightly to the screen in his servos, "I apologize for the delay…"

Megatron turned to face Knockout fully as he spoke with an accusing tone, "I wonder if it would have taken you as long to repair had you not spent so much time buffing yourself."

Knockout only offered an embarrassed smile. He wasn't about to admit that he'd spent nearly all of yesterday repairing his own damages from the encounter with a subway sweeper. Especially not since he was meant to have spent the time repairing the communication chief's cracked headgear. …And his neglect was all too apparent considering there wasn't a scratch left on his shiny red exterior. Suddenly he found himself wishing he'd done a better job repairing the blasted screen.

Sensing that there was no correct way to respond, he looked past Megatron, "Uhh, Soundwave… I have your visor." he said giving the face plate a little wave.

Soundwave paused typing for a moment and turned slightly, though keeping his face just out of view. One of his tentacles lifted off the keypad and crept its way across the room. It paused in front of Knockout with its claws open and the doctor carefully placed the visor in its grasp. It quickly pulled back to Soundwave and placed the screen over his face with a small click. The tentacle then repositioned itself on the dashboard and began to work again.

"Sooo, how's the decoding coming along?" Knockout inquired as he approached them.

"Soundwave has just finished decrypting another set of coordinates." Megatron stated proudly.

"Really? That was fast."

"It would appear that when the Nemesis itself was decoding the archives, it had nearly finished a fifth set before it was stopped. Soundwave made easy work of the last few lines of data." Megatron explained, he then looked to Knockout with another disapproving glare, "Though he _might_ have been able to work even faster if he had access to his visor."

Knockout laughed nervously, "Heh, yes, well you know how these sort of repairs go? Screens can be tricky to fully restore sometimes…" It was a weak excuse, but truthfully Soundwave was lucky to be getting anything back at all. Knockout had come close to smashing the damned thing to pieces in his frustration. After an awkward moment passed by, Knockout loudly cleared his vents:

" _Ahem_ … Lord Megatron, allow _me_ to lead this expedition." he continued, "I know I've had some… questionable success recently, but give me this chance to prove myself and I swear I will not fail you again!"

Megatron narrowed his optics uncertainly, but gave a short nod. "Hmm yes. See that you don't." Knockout bowed quickly and rushed out the door to assemble a mining team. There was a moment of silence before Megatron spoke up again:

"Soundwave." the clicking ceased as the 'Con paused his work and looked up at his master, "I fear that having Knockout continue unaccompanied on away missions is costing us greatly." Megatron clasped his servos together behind his back, "Without his partner he lacks the power necessary to overcome the Autobots… would you agree?"

Soundwave stared blankly back at Megatron, but after a long moment he gave a slow nod.

"Hmm… Then I believe you should trail him on this mission. And if worse comes to worse, I trust that _you_ will not let the relic fall into enemy hands." Megatron looked back up at the coordinates displayed on the screen, "Decoding more of the database can wait for just another day; after all the Autobots are not about to start finding coordinates before we do."


	2. Chapter 2

_*BRRRRRRRRRRZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ZZZZZZZZZ*_

"H-hey Bee!" Jack shouted, covering his ears, "Does that thing have a quiet mode or something?"

Bumblebee stopped his hand-held drill for a moment to look back. " _beepboopWHIRRRRRRZZZZoop_ " with that he powered the drill back on and continued to dig for the relic.

"I guess that's a negative."

Raf and Jack stood covering their ears about fifty feet back from where Bumblebee was hunched over the drill. The noise coming off the thing was maddeningly loud and it was clearly making the whole mission less enjoyable for the two humans. It was lucky the coordinates to the latest relic had led them deep into a large deciduous forest. Considering their tiny drill was somewhat like the sound of a dental drill multiplied by maybe a thousand, it would have attracted some unwanted attention had they been close to civilization.

"Come on Jack, it's only one of Ratchet's medical drills. It's not that bad." Arcee stood just a ways off from Bumblebee keeping watch. Regardless of what she'd said, she still had to yell to overcome the sound.

"It _really_ is, Arcee. Your audio receptors must be on a weird frequency." Jack took Raf by the shoulder and started leading him away, "So, we're just gonna back off a little so we don't break ours."

"Whoa, hey! Don't go running off. I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you!" Arcee shouted.

"We'll be fine!" Jack called back, "Just come find us when you're done."

"Well at least stay within earshot!"

"Missing the point!?"

The two boys disappeared into the underbrush and Arcee mumbled angrily, "What's up with him? I swear, that kid never listens to me anymore."

" _bzzzZZZrrt?_ "

"I SAID- …oh… never mind."

As Jack and Raf got farther away the sound of the drill started to fade and Jack gave a sigh of relief, "I'm kinda wishing I hadn't come now." he said, finally lowering his palms from where they had been pressed against his ears.

Raf smiled back at him, "Yeah, maybe… but I'm just glad that Bumblebee even asked me to come on another mission."

Jack folded his arms across his chest, recalling how Raf had very nearly been killed by Megatron just a number of weeks ago. It was no surprise the bots were being more protective of them now, especially Bumblebee. He didn't voice this to Raf though, and instead chose to nod and mumble his agreement.

Raf continued to speak as he took off his backpack and pulled out his laptop, "Bee hardly ever takes me out of the base with him anymore, so this is actually kinda nice."

"Whoa, hang on, you brought your laptop?" Jack asked, a bit surprised, "We're in the middle of a forest, you're not exactly gonna get a signal out here."

Raf moved towards a collection of boulders nearby and sat down on a short one. He placed his computer on his lap and reached into his pocket, "No worries, I've got _this_!" he said, pulling out a short black usb stick with an antenna.

"What's that? Did you create portable internet now?" Jack laughed.

"It's not something _I_ created." Raf continued and plugged the device into his laptop, "It's just a regular wireless card… although I did up the specs on it quite a bit."

"Oh yeah? How so?"

"Well, for a normal computer we're too far out to get a signal at all, but I modified the card to boost its range." Raf demonstrated by pulling up the wireless settings on his computer. "See? Full bars. And I even have it boosted enough to pierce through the dampeners that are around the base. Y'know, for when Miko is hogging the ethernet cables."

Jack leaned in to look at the computer screen, "Wait what?! …Uhh, but… isn't that kinda _dangerous_? What if the 'Cons pick up on the signal?"

"Don't worry, they can't. I created a software proxy that hides the IP address. There's no way to trace it back to a specific location." Raf continued to pull up lines of code (which meant nothing to Jack) to show how he managed it, "And besides, even if the 'Cons could pick up the signal, as far as they know it's just some human surfing the web."

"Huh… Yeah I guess that's not so suspicious." Jack stood up straight again.

"And pretty useful when you're stuck in the woods on a low-risk mission." Then, as if on cue, a faint rumbling engine became audible.

"Wait, is that a car?" Jack looked around for the source, "Way out here in the woods?"

"Maybe Bee finished and came looking for us?" Raf offered, closing his laptop.

"But it's coming from the opposite direction that we came from…" As the noise became louder, it became apparent it wasn't the rumble of just one engine.

"Oh no… GET DOWN!" Jack grabbed Raf's arm and pulled him behind the rocks just as a red muscle car burst into the clearing and screeched to a halt. Jack slowly peeked out from behind their cover in time to see the car transform into Knockout. The Decepticon, with his back turned to the humans, began to irritably pick leaves and branches out of the tires on his ankles.

"Ugh. I'm _not_ an off-road vehicle. I shouldn't have to put up with this…" he muttered angrily, then he spun around to face the group of miners and Vehicons that were coming through the underbrush, "Hurry it up, slowpokes! The sooner we get that relic the sooner I can get back and clear this repulsive Earth vegetation out of my struts." He paused and looked around for a moment, "And where has that infernal Insecticon gotten off to?"

The Vehicons looked around also, but a moment later the giant-bug transformer came bursting through the forest knocking trees out of the way, showering the other 'Cons with splintered wood and leaves. Knockout glared at the beast, but then turned away as he pulled out a handheld scanner.

"Let's get this over with." He growled as he flicked the device on. "Looks like we're close. Come on." As Knockout led his team off into the underbrush, Jack crouched back down behind the rocks with Raf.

"This is _bad **.**_ " he whispered, "We've gotta warn Arcee and Bumblebee!"

Raf opened his computer again, "Don't worry, I'm on it." he said, "I can call Arcee through my computer's internet."

"Okay, just hurry! Those 'Cons will be on them in a matter of seconds!"

Meanwhile, Arcee and Bumblebee had just finished digging, so the noisy little drill, which would have given them away already, was switched off and put to the side. Bumblebee gave a pleased whirr as he pulled the egg-shaped container out of the ground.

"Nice work, Bee." Arcee said, "Let's open 'er up and see what we've got."

As Bumblebee started to unscrew the lid Arcee's comm link turned on, " _Arcee!_ "

"Jack? Good timing, we just finished-"

" _Arcee there's 'Cons!_ "

Arcee spun around to face the trees where the boys had disappeared earlier, " _What_?!" she cried, "Where are you? What's-"

As she spoke, Knockout came striding through the trees with his miners. For a few moments he remained focused on the beeping of the scanner in his servo and continued striding towards the two Autobots. When finally turned his optics up, he stopped in his tracks and stood there just looking somewhat dumbfounded for a moment.

"Wh… WHAT?!" he finally screamed, "How could you possibly have gotten here _before_ us?!"

"Bee get out of here! Protect the relic!" Arcee commanded, "I'll go find the kids." She then drew out her arm blades with a metallic _shing_ and rushed at the 'Cons.

"DESTROY THEM!" Knockout shouted back at his Vehicons. They rushed forward to meet her attack, but Arcee was too quick. She dodged the first few that came her way and went straight for Knockout. As she made a flying leap and was about to bring her blades down on the medic's head, the screech of the Insecticon pierced the air. The beast came tearing through the brush and tackled Arcee mid-jump.

On the other side of the comm, Jack and Raf could only listen with dread to the Insecticon's shriek and Arcee's subsequent cry of pain as it pinned her to the ground. A moment later the call was dropped, presumably because Arcee was knocked offline by the hit.

"We've gotta get over there." Jack said as he stood, "Raf, call base for back up!"

"Wait, you want us to go over to where they're battling?" Raf asked, "That's way too dangerous, Jack! Besides, what could we possibly do to help?"

"Well, I'm not saying we should get directly involved, but if the 'Bots _do_ need us or if they find a way to escape we should be nearby… just in case." Jack said as he made for the trees, "Come on! And call base on the way!"

As the boys were making their way towards them, the 'Cons had descended upon Bumblebee who, despite Arcee's order to take the relic and run, had remained steadfast. With the container in one arm and his lasers firing shots from the other, he started fighting his way through the Vehicons and making his way to Arcee who was lying still beneath the massive Insecticon.

Seeing him approach, the beast leapt from the unconscious femme and straight at Bumblebee. The blaster fire did little, if anything, to deter its course as it crashed into Bee with its snarling fangs bared and headed straight for the scout's face plate. Bumblebee managed to get his arm up just in time before it clamped down, crushing the plating around his arm and spraying energon across the 'Con's fangs. As Bumblebee let out a high-pitched whirr of distress, the Insecticon tossed its head and Bee was flung through the air.

As he crashed back to the Earth, the relic container was jolted out of his grasp and went bouncing across the ground towards Arcee, who was just beginning to stir again. She opened her optics just in time to see the container rolling towards her. She scrambled onto her knees and extended her arm to grab it, but was met instead by a swift kick in the face and was sent skidding across the dirt. Looking back she saw Knockout reaching down and picking up the relic container with a smug grin across his face.

"So Arcee _,_ did I hear correctly that you Autobots brought along your human friends?" He said as he began to unscrew the lid, "How fortunate. I've been pondering about how to properly repay them for that little incident in the subway… and I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help me find out what my new toy here-"

_*CLANG*_

Before Knockout could finish his little monologue, he was cut short by a dirt-covered medical drill flying through the air and smashing into his face, courtesy of a certain disgruntled Bee who had been listening while he battled the Insecticon. The blow caused Knockout to stagger backwards clutching his face. Acree was quick to take advantage of the momentary falter; she sprung to her feet and charged at the 'Con medic. With a quick one-two hit from her arm blades and a kick to the chassis for good measure, Knockout was sent sprawling into the dust, out for the count.

Meanwhile the relic he'd been holding had, once again, gone tumbling to the ground. Arcee made a dash towards it only to come under attack from the remaining Vehicons. She was able to dodge their initial blaster fire, but one shot managed to find her and brought her down. Clutching her side where the laser had hit, she looked up to see the Vehicon standing above her with his blaster pointed at her face. As the charging laser began to buzz, another familiar sound met her audio receptors: a groundbridge portal opening up.

A moment later, the Vehicon was blasted backwards, closely followed by the others standing around him. Arcee looked over and was glad to see Optimus Prime standing just in front of the glowing green portal.

"Optimus! How did you-?"

"Jack and Rafael informed us you would need some backup." Optimus interrupted her as he approached. He offered his servo and helped her back to her feet. The groundbridge closed behind them and they turned to where Bumblebee was still fighting with the Insecticon.

He'd done an impressive job of evading the beast's attacks so far, but despite that, and considering his recent injury, he hadn't managed to land any significant blows. The 'Con's angry, howl-like cries showed it was becoming increasingly frustrated with Bumblebee's speed and its swipes were becoming more erratic and getting dangerously close to striking the scout. Arcee and Optimus exchanged quick glances and then sprung into action.

As they descended on the Insecticon, Jack and Raf finally arrived just in time to see Optimus blasting the beast into submission. They stayed hidden in the trees until the battle concluded, which wasn't long because just a few moments later Arcee leapt onto the 'Con's back and promptly decapitated it with her blades.

Now that the danger had passed, Jack and Raf rushed out to see the 'Bots, "Nice one, Arcee!"

"Thanks, Jack. Oh, and thanks for calling some back up too." She replied, "I guess it was a good thing we brought you along."

"Bumblebee! What happened to your arm?!"

They looked over to see Bumblebee kneeling down to greet Raf who had immediately started fussing over his crushed forearm. Bee explained what had happened with a long stream of beeps and whirrs and a few gestures at the headless Insecticon.

"No worries, Raf. Looks like just a surface wound. It's nothing Ratchet can't fix." Arcee assured.

As she finished her sentence a low groan was heard from behind them. They all looked back to see Knockout sitting up off the ground. The medic paused, seemingly a bit dazed, and placed a servo on his face where the impact from the drill had left an impressive gash across his mouth. As he drew back it back and saw the leaked energon smeared across his digits, his expression went from lethargic to enraged.

"AUGH! What did you slagging Autobots do to my _face?!_ You're gonna pay for-" at this point he looked over and saw Optimus Prime descending upon him and his anger was quickly replaced by terror. Before he could react or defend himself at all, he was forced back into the dirt with Optimus Prime's pede on his chassis pinning him down. He grimaced in pain but the terror returned to his face as Optimus raised his arm, transforming it back into his gun, and took aim at Knockout's head.

"WHOA WHOA **,** hold on! Don't shoot! You win, okay?! I- I… I _surrender_!" Knockout managed to stutter out as he lifted his servos in resignation, "Take the relic… just _don't shoot!_ "

"What should we do with him?" Arcee asked taking a few steps closer.

" _BEEEPbooozzzrrrrtttzzzzzWHRR RRRRRR!_ " With that, Bumblebee pounded his fists together threateningly. Though he seemed to forget his injury and the jolt made him let out a high pitched _BEEP_ and grasp at his forearm.

"Precisely my thoughts, Bumblebee." Optimus replied and the tip of his gun began to glow and whirr as he prepared to fire.

" _NO!_ " Knockout threw his arms up in front of his face, "No please! I'm begging you-"

"Optimus, wait!" Both the Autobot leader and the medic pinned below him looked over in surprise at Jack, "You can't kill him just like that… he surrendered."

"Well what do you want us to do, Jack?" Arcee said, "Bring him back to the base and leave him cuffed to a banister?"

"No, it's just… it doesn't seem very _Autobot-like_ to execute someone after they've already given up." Jack continued, as he stepped over to the relic container, "I mean, we have the relic. Couldn't we just go?"

Optimus looked from Jack back down to Knockout, who was quick to meet his gaze; his terrified optics now glimmering with a small shred of hope. A long, tense moment passed as Optimus stared down at the 'Con, but finally he announced, "Arcee, Bumblebee… Take the relic and the humans back to base. **I** will finish matters here."

"But Optimus-"

"You heard 'im, kiddo." Arcee interrupted, scooping Jack up into one servo and the relic container into the other, "Let's head out."

"Arcee, come on! This isn't right!"

Arcee was surely about to say something chastising about the realities of war or how he was just a kid and wouldn't understand or how Optimus knows best, but before she had the chance, she suddenly dropped both Jack and the relic. Letting out an agonizing scream, she pressed her servos against her helm, staggering backwards slightly.

"Arcee! What-?" Jack sat up from where he'd fallen to the ground, but a moment later he realized it wasn't just her, all four of the Cybertronians there were covering their audio receptors with pained expressions on their faces.

"Wh-what's going on?" Raf looked to Jack fearfully. Jack had no idea how to respond, but he was about to be saved the trouble because just then the roar of an engine met their ears. A moment later there was a ground-shaking THUD as Soundwave transformed and landed behind Knockout. His arm was extended with the Resonance Blaster attached and blasting at full strength.

For a long moment Jack froze, only able to look on helplessly. Finally pulling his eyes away from the 'Bots, doubled over clutching their helms and crying out in agony, he looked over to Raf, who had his eyes fixed fearfully on Soundwave. Strangely enough, the two of them seemed unaffected by the sonic weapon. Rushing over to Raf, Jack grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the relic container.

"Come on! We've gotta at least _try_ to get this relic out of here." he commanded.

"What about the 'Bots?! Bumblebee-"

"We can't do anything about that." Jack admitted, though he hated to say so, "What we can do is try to hide the relic."

Luckily for them, Soundwave didn't even seem to notice the tiny humans scrambling across the ground, seeing as he was much more focused on the Prime who was still stepping on his medical officer. Taking a few steps closer, Soundwave drew back his other arm and swung it forward with tremendous power, sending Optimus crashing to the ground. The purple 'Con then stepped over Knockout, allowing him out of the range of the sonic blasts. He proceeded to grab ahold of the medic with one of his clawed tentacles and roughly yank him up to a standing position.

Knockout stumbled a bit with his servos still pressed against his temples and his optics shut tight. It took him another minute to regain his composure, but when he finally looked up and saw Soundwave, who was now corralling the 'Bots together with the use of his sonic weapon, he was confused at first. He hadn't brought Soundwave on this mission, what was he doing there all of a sudden?

Then he realized there was only one person who could have ordered him away from his work on the database. But did Megatron really have that little confidence in him? Surely he didn't need Soundwave babysitting him on missions… Although if Soundwave hadn't shown up, he'd be getting thrown onto the scrap pile with the rest of his team right about now. Despite owing his life to the mech, Knockout felt his anger at Soundwave returning in full force.

His processor still pounding from the Resonance Blaster, he stomped over to the 'Con and backhanded him across his shoulder angrily, "SLAG IT SOUNDWAVE!" he shouted, "I have audio receptors too, y'know!" Soundwave lowered his arm, giving the cringing Autobots a some respite as they lay in a heap by his feet, and slowly turned to face the medic.

Knockout took a step away timidly and gave a short, nervous laugh. He began to think striking Soundwave may not have been the best idea. "But uhhh- thanks for the assist… Let's just… go collect the relic then…?" he mumbled as he slowly started backing towards the container on the ground.

Soundwave glanced down at the disabled Autobots near his feet, then turned and followed Knockout. As they approached, the red 'Con crouched by the container and rolled it over. However he was surprised to find the lid had been removed and it was empty. He was confused for a moment before he remembered:

"The humans!" he growled, "They must've grabbed it while we weren't looking!"

He was correct. While Soundwave was incapacitating the 'Bots, Jack and Raf had managed to pull the already loosened lid off the container and roll the relic into the trees to hide. Now the two were crouched down behind the foliage. Jack risked looking out to see Soundwave and Knockout and saw they had noticed the relic was gone. Then he looked back at the relic beside them. The red, coin shaped disc was lined with glowing white patterns along the front as well as a metal Autobot badge. Sitting on its side it was just taller than Jack, and it was lucky they had found it that way inside the container, had it been sitting flat the two wouldn't have been able to roll it away.

Jack looked away from the unknown Autobot device and back to Raf, "Call base again. Tell them we need… _more_ back up… I… I guess." He said in hushed tones. Jack was clearly trying to stay calm for Raf's sake but he knew they were in serious trouble and his voice gave it away.

Raf gulped nervously and, glancing over at the relic for a moment, he pulled his laptop out of his bag and started to call Ratchet. "This is really bad isn't it…?" he groaned, "Aww man… I should have put some sort of disabling function on that virus we gave Soundwave…"

"What?!"

Raf cried out as a clawed hand suddenly reached through the brush and snatched him up!

"RAF!" Jack made to go after him, but he heard rustling behind him and spun around to see Soundwave's tentacle grabbing ahold of the relic with its claws. "OH NO!" Desperate to stop the 'Con, he grabbed ahold of the side of the contraption and tried to pull it away. It was futile though, as the tentacle lifted it off the ground and reeled it back in to Soundwave with Jack still hanging on to the side.

Meanwhile, Raf clutched his laptop to his chest as Knockout held him suspended in the air by his backpack. "Now, what's that you were saying about a virus, fleshling?" he crooned with a nasty smirk spread across his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Since he'd first been introduced to the Autobot team, Jack had found himself in some unfortunate situations, but he was having a hard time thinking of a time where things had gone this badly this fast.

Optimus, Arcee, and Bumblebee were all offline and piled up in a heap as Jack and Raf found themselves in the clutches of Soundwave and Knockout. Clinging to the side of the Autobot relic, Jack felt his hands growing tired from the strain of keeping the weak grip he had on the device. He considered letting go, but looking down and seeing just how high he was gave him second thoughts about this plan. Suddenly, he was lifted even higher and was just a few feet from the screen plating of Soundwave's face. He stared into the reflection on that emotionless visor knowing that, although he couldn't see it, Soundwave was staring right back at the boy and wondering what to do with the little vermin that had attached itself to his prize.

"Stop! L-let go! That's mine!" Jack glanced over and saw Knockout pulling Raf's laptop out of his grasp with the tips of his claws. He gave the device a once over look and gave a brief laugh.

"Seems like you're awfully attached to this. Maybe I'll just hang on to it, then." the 'Con mused, closing his servo around it, "This device wouldn't have anything to do with that virus you mentioned, would it? Because I'd love to hear more about _that **.**_ "

Raf squirmed about trying to loosen himself from the backpack that Knockout was holding him up by, but the straps were pressed tight against his arms, preventing any attempt to wiggle out of them. Failing to free himself, he cried out, "BUMBLEBEE!"

Knockout took a short glimpse back at the immobilized Autobots with a grin, "Sorry, looks like you're on your own here." But as he turned his attention back to the human in his clutches, behind him Bumblebee did start to stir. Making a quiet beep somewhat reminiscent of a whine, he lifted his good arm and brought his servo to the side of his helm, his optics half-open. His senses were all still somewhat fuzzy, but through the pounding in his audio receptors he heard that small, familiar voice:

"HELP! BUMBLEBEE, WAKE UP!"

Bee's optics shot open as the words registered in his processor. Raf was in trouble! With a loud, angry whirr he leapt from the ground and charged at the 'Cons. Knockout was able to look back just in time to get a face-full of Bumblebee fist. Raf was sent flying towards the trees, but Bee was quick to snatch him out of the air. However, the awkward angle he took as he caught the human sent him tumbling into the underbrush, landing even more awkwardly on top of the 'Con medic he'd just punched out.

Soundwave, still holding tight to the relic (with Jack still hanging on), backed away from the tree line and raised his other arm, readying the Resonance Blaster for when Bumblebee got back up. However, he was startled by sudden blaster fire from the opposite direction. He turned his head and saw Arcee and Optimus had regained consciousness and were coming for him. Looking back, he saw Bumblebee had also crawled out of the forest and was charging as well.

Reluctant to wave a sonic weapon back and forth as he fired it, and not having time to pause and fire in both directions, Soundwave decided on another way to stop the 'Bots. Quickly reaching up with one of his tentacles, he wrapped it tightly around Jack and held the human out in front of him, squeezing tight and causing the human to cry out in pain.

The Autobots immediately froze where they stood, blasters still at the ready, but not daring to take another step towards Soundwave for fear of his captive's safety. Arcee was particularly distraught at this new turn of events.

"STOP! Don't hurt him!" she called out. Her voice was commanding but the fear was still very apparent, and Soundwave picked up on it. He looked slowly from Arcee to the human in his grip, considering his next move. After a short pause, his screen lit up and began processing their coordinates. A moment later, a groundbridge portal opened directly behind him.

Knockout, who had finally gotten up, heard the bridge open and mumbled a relieved, " _Finally!_ " He rushed forward, knocking Bumblebee aside, "Out of the way, pipsqueak!" Leaping forward, he transformed into his vehicle mode and zoomed through the bridge and disappeared. Soundwave, glanced at him as he passed, but still remained in his place keeping his focus on the 'Bots. Another tense moment passed before Optimus stepped forward.

"Soundwave, you have the relic. We will not fight you for it." he said. He transformed his gun back into a hand and extended it out to the 'Con, "I implore you, release the boy. He is no threat to you."

Soundwave looked slowly from Arcee back to Jack one last time, then suddenly turned and dashed into the portal with Jack!

"NO! JACK!" Arcee bolted for the portal, blasters firing wildly, but it was no use. Before she could even get close the bridge had vanished, Soundwave and Jack with it.

Falling to her knees, Arcee stared sadly forwards where the portal had disappeared, "No….. no no no _no no NO NO!_ " the femme pitched herself forward, pounding her fists on the ground as she cried out. Behind her, Bumblebee gave a solemn whirr as he looked over to Optimus, but the Autobot leader made no response. His optics were fixed forward, the servo he had extended to Soundwave pulled back and clutched tightly in front of his chassis.

After a long silence, he finally reached up to his audio receptor and pressed to activate his communicator, "Ratchet… We require a groundbridge." he began, "There has been an… incident."

* * *

As Knockout made his escape through the groundbridge, he suddenly realized he wasn't really so keen on going back to the Nemesis.

Of course getting away from the Autobots was a relief, but at the same time it meant having to face Megatron… and the Decepticon Lord would certainly not be pleased to hear that Soundwave did indeed have to step in. As he came through the other side of the portal it crossed his mind to actually turn around and try to find a way to help Soundwave deal with the three 'Bots; then at least he could say he contributed _something_ to the success of his assignment… if you could even call it a success.

However, any notion of going back to redeem himself was put out of his head once he noticed just where he'd bridged into. Slamming on his brakes, Knockout skidded to a stop just in time to avoid crashing into the back of Megatron's legs. Soundwave had bridged him straight into the Nemesis Main Command Center! Of _course_ he did! Soundwave must have known he would be anxious to face their leader after that debacle of a mission, so the first thing that fragger would do would be to drop him right in front of Megatron.

The 'Con leader turned around just as Knockout transformed back into his robot mode. Knockout began to stutter apologetically as Megatron looked him up and down. Seeing the sorry state of Knockout's face his optics narrowed accusingly.

"I see I was right to send Soundwave to keep an eye on you, after all." He said, still glaring down at the medic.

"What? NO!" Knockout realized immediately how aggressive he sounded and adjusted his tone, "Uh, I mean… My Liege- it wasn't my fault! The Autobots were-"

" _Pathetic_ , Knockout." Megatron interrupted, "You can't even be trusted with a simple retrieval mission on your own? You really _are_ useless without Breakdown."

Knockout felt a sudden jolt through his spark at that name. He had been so consumed with his frustration he had hardly even thought about his former partner recently, but hearing something like that… Knockout quickly bowed his head so Megatron wouldn't see the look on his face. He wasn't even sure if he was angry or sad, but it was probably better if he didn't display any combination of the two in front of the present company.

He was saved from further patronizing by his master when Soundwave came through the portal behind him. Megatron pushed Knockout out of the way and approached his third-in-command. "Soundwave. I trust _you_ were able to successfully retrieve my relic."

Soundwave responded by presenting the red disk in his servo.

"Excellent." Megatron said taking the relic and looking it over. "Hmm. Autobot technology? Not what I was expecting, but-" he suddenly paused as he noticed what was squirming away in Soundwave's tentacle, "Oh, and what's this? A human?"

Behind Megatron, Knockout finally looked up again. "You took one of their humans?" he asked. "Why?"

Soundwave looked over at him and responded by playing back his own words, " _Seems like you're awfully attached to this. Maybe I'll just hang on to it, then._ "

"Good thinking, Soundwave." Megatron lifted a digit to poke at Jack, "Optimus is just foolish enough to let one of these fleshy creatures in on all of their Autobot secrets."

Jack recoiled at the cold touch of Megatron's claw, but despite that he glared defiantly at the Decepticon leader, "I won't tell you _anything_!" he shouted.

Megatron let out a loud, terrifying laugh at this, "We'll see about that, won't we?" he smirked. Looking back to Soundwave he continued, "Take the human down to the brig. I'll be there shortly to deal with him personally." Soundwave nodded and turned to leave.

Looking back to Knockout, Megatron held out the relic to him, "Knockout. Take this Autobot tech back to your lab and see if you can't discern what its function is." Knockout stepped forward and reached out to receive the disk, but before he could Megatron pulled his servo away and leaned in close to the medic, "But do not think that your recent string of failures has gone unnoticed. Just consider yourself lucky that I still have some use for you besides as a warrior… From now on you're to stay in the labs and medical bay where you belong. Do I make myself clear, _doctor_?"

"… _Explicitly_ , Lord Megatron." Knockout then snatched the relic from his master's servo and trudged past him out of the command center.

Out in the hallway, as he continued towards his lab, Knockout looked down at the red disk in his servo. The glowing white patterns reflected off the metallic, embossed Autobot symbol on its surface making it shine up at him. Like the slagging thing was _mocking_ him. A low growl escaped his throat as a snarl formed across his face.

"Fragging Autobots…" he grumbled, "How did they even get to the coordinates before we-"

Knockout suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked up. That actually wasn't a bad question… how had the Autobots gotten there before him? They had already figured that when the relics were unearthed they sent out some sort of beacon, so it was obvious why the Autobots had shown up all the other times the 'Cons had found relics… but this time the 'Bots themselves had done the digging. How did they know where to look in the first place?

The doctor clenched his fist tightly around the relic as he tried to think of a possible explanation. As he did, he felt something in his other servo. He uncurled his fist and looked down. Sure enough, still clutched in his other hand was a tiny silver computer. His thoughts turned back to the little human boy from earlier; he had mentioned something about a virus and…

Soundwave!

He was the 'Con who had been working with the Iacon Database for the last two days. There must have been a connection to him and however it was the 'Bots had been able to beat them to the relic. Knockout, firmly grasping both the relic and Raf's computer, turned and rushed off in the opposite direction; back towards the Archives where Soundwave had been working on the database.

* * *

Jack had finally stopped struggling against the tight grip of the tentacle around him. Even if he could somehow wiggle free, he had realized by now that there was nowhere to go… Actually, that wasn't exactly true. He could go about fifty feet straight down and smash onto the floor, but that was about it. And since it was clear he wasn't about to escape on his own, he started trying to think of ways to get help.

He did have his cell phone in his pocket, but he imagined that on the Nemesis, like in the Autobot base, he would hit trouble trying to even find a signal let alone get through to anyone.

As Soundwave made his way down the hallway, they passed a number of Vehicons. Each of them looking down at the human curiously as they went by. One actually stopped and seemed about to ask Soundwave about him, but then shook his head and briskly continued on his way. Jack thought about calling out to one of them for help, but he knew that would be pointless. Not only because he was in the grasp of _Soundwave_ , but because they wouldn't help him even if he wasn't already a prisoner… but the longer their walk went on the more desperate Jack began to feel.

He looked back up at Soundwave, his blank screen facing forward, not looking down at the human. For one crazy moment he even considered appealing to the 'Con to let him go. That was probably his worst idea yet.

Jack started to think back on when Agent Fowler had been captured by the Decepticons and the state he'd been in when they'd finally found him… and he was lucky enough to be rescued right away. A knot formed in Jack's throat as he began to imagine what kind of horrors Megatron might have in store for him.

What if he couldn't take it? What if the 'Cons kept him there for days and weeks on end and he finally cracked under the pressure and spilled everything?! The Autobots, his friends and family, the entire world could potentially be destroyed by the Decepticons if he let the wrong information slip out. Just as Jack felt he was going to be sick all over the side of Soundwave's tentacle, the 'Con suddenly stopped.

Jack looked up and noticed the previously blank screen of his face was now covered by a flurry of data. Soundwave's head perked up and he stood perfectly still for almost a full minute, presumably focused on whatever data had found its way into his head. After that long pause where Jack was unsure of what the 'Con was up to, Soundwave turned on his heel and sprinted down the hallway back the way they'd came. Jack grasped tightly to the side of the tentacle around him; he knew Soundwave had a tight grip on him, but it helped against being jarred about by his running.

After he'd gone flying down several hallways, Soundwave finally turned through a doorway and came to an abrupt halt. Jack was dizzy from all the motion, but as he looked forward he was able to see Knockout standing in front of an expansive computer console. When he heard the door sliding open the medic turned to see who had come in.

"Ohhhhh, _Soundwave_ -" he laughed with a wicked smirk plastered across his face, "You've really done it this time!"


	4. Chapter 4

Soundwave stepped towards the console in front of him, staring up at the code displayed across the screen; the code that had been transmitted to him the moment Knockout had brought them up on the computer… the code that he was just now detecting in his own systems as he scanned them. He had read through the lines of data immediately upon receiving them, and he knew exactly what the function of this virus was. Though his expression remained stoic, Soundwave felt his spark sink. He had failed in his duty to the Decepticons. He had failed his Lord and Master.

Although the 'Con had realized all this by himself, for some reason Knockout felt the need to inform him thusly, "A virus, Soundwave?" he did a poor job of keeping the glee out of his voice as he chastised his communications officer, "Oh, that is just rich. Honestly, I'd have thought someone in your position would be more careful about something like this… I mean, how did you not notice it?! There's hardly _any_ encryption on this thing, it's so crudely written" Placing a hand on the console, Knockout strummed his digits lightly, "Hmm, well it's too late now, anyways. This thing has already sent the entire Iacon Database straight to the Autobots.

"…But you know, this _does_ explain how they were able to beat me to the relic… and if they got to that one so quickly, I don't see how we have any chance of finding the other ones before the Autobots do." Knockout shook his head solemnly, but his voice still had that slight trace of mirth to it, "Oh dear. Megatron will not be pleased when he hears about this." He reached forward to press a button on the console, "So… Do you want to tell him, or shall I?"

Soundwave turned from the screen over to Knockout. He hovered his gaze on the medic for a long moment as he processed his situation. He was right, of course. Megatron would be furious when he learned Soundwave had practically handed over the database to the Autobots… Although he had always been the most loyal and dependable of Megatron's followers, and this was the first big mistake he'd ever made; surely his glorious leader would show him mercy on those grounds.

…but, he realized, this wasn't just a mistake; this was _monumental_. There was no telling what sort of opportunities the 'Cons would now miss out on because of this or even what kind of advantage the Autobots would gain from it. Things would never be the same if Megatron knew Soundwave had allowed this to happen. The trust he alloted to his third in command would forever be tarnished.

Taking all this into account, Soundwave turned back to the control panel to call Megatron… He knew what he had to do, and since the trust between him and his Master would be broken either way… He would have to lie.

Knockout stepped back as Soundwave reached out to the console and crossed his arms across his chassis. He knew this virus was a terrible blow to the Decepticon cause, but all the same. It took all his self-control to keep the satisfied smirk off his face as he watched Soundwave hesitate over the controls, his digits giving a slight twinge before he finally brought them down. He looked up at the screen as a view of the brig came up with a Vehicon in front of the console. On the edge of the camera's range, Megatron was visible.

"Lord Megatron," the drone said, turning to his master, "Soundwave is calling from the data archives."

Megatron turned and approached the console, his expression was already quite displeased, "Soundwave! What are you doing there?" he commanded, "I told you to meet me down here with the human!"

Soundwave looked down at the control panel and proceeded to type out a command which brought up a window on the screen with the virus coding. Megatron paused a moment as he scanned the coding.

"What…? Is this… A virus?!" he shouted, "What is its function?"

Soundwave replayed Knockout's words from earlier: "- _sent the entire Iacon Database straight to the Autobots._ "

" _WHAAAT?!_ "

Knockout couldn't help but flinch at the sound of the enraged Megatron's voice. He hadn't heard that kind of ferocity from his master in a long time. A loud clang resounded through the console speakers as Megatron brought his fists down on the control panel in front of him in a fit of rage.

"WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!" He demanded, his optics flaring in anger.

This was the moment Knockout had been waiting for. He looked back down to Soundwave, still fighting to keep his expression from looking too smug in front of Megatron, and watched as the 'Con bowed his head slightly… but suddenly he turned and raised his arm, extending a digit towards-

"KNOCKOUT?!"

His mouth fell open in shock. Suddenly all that satisfaction he had felt just moments ago vanished. Soundwave was trying to frame him?!

"Wha- NO! NO, HE'S LYING!" he cried, pointing back at Soundwave, " _He's_ the one who-"

Soundwave interrupted him as he played back more recordings of his own voice, " _A virus-? Oh, that is just rich- Megatron will not_ _be pleased when he hears about this._ "

"NO! TH-THAT WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTEXT!" Knockout screamed. But the delight in his voice on those clips… He really shouldn't have been so jovial as he was chastising Soundwave before. But how could he have known that Soundwave would flat out lie to Megatron? The idea was so ridiculous he hadn't even considered it… which was exactly why Megatron wasn't going to believe him.

"SILENCE!" Megatron's optics narrowed as he glared at the medic, "And to think… all this time I just took your blundering for the work of a _coward_ … but a _traitor_?! I had thought you were smarter than that, Knockout."

"No! Lord Megatron it's not tru-"

"ENOUGH!" Knockout took a defensive step back as his master's voice shook the console. "I don't want to hear any of your lies. Soundwave! Escort him to me in the brig. I want the pleasure of pulling out his circuits for myself **.** "

There was a click as communications were cut off and Megatron disappeared from the screen. Knockout looked on in horror as Soundwave turned towards him, his one free tentacle unwinding from his body, the tendrils on the end writhing in anticipation of clamping down on the medic.

"No… NO! You won't get away with this!" he shouted, backing against the wall and away from the approaching mech, his hands raised defensively. "I… I can prove that _you_ were the one who introduced the virus!"

Soundwave stopped in his tracks. After pausing for a moment, he played back, "LYING!"

"You and Laserbeak both have the virus coding still inside you!" Knockout said, raising a digit and pointing at the mini-con clamped onto Soundwave's chest, "I can show Megatron that not only was the virus your fault, but then he'll also know that you were lying to him just now!"

Soundwave stood frozen in place, his processor working fast trying to determine his next move. It didn't take him long to decide: drawing back his tentacle slightly, he proceeded to drive it straight towards Knockout, claws spinning and poised to pierce through his spark.

Knockout screamed and dove out of the way just in time and the tentacle crashed into the wall behind him. It tore through the exterior metal, twisting it as the claws rotated and pulled it apart with a metallic shriek. Now sprawled across the floor, Knockout couldn't tear his optics from the tentacle as it struggled to remove itself from the wall… Soundwave had intended to do that to _him_. He realized that revealing how he intended to prove his innocence was a mistake, because now Soundwave had no intention of taking him to Megatron alive.

Finally pulling out of the crater it had formed in the wall, the tentacle turned its attention again towards Knockout. The medic scrambled to his feet as it lunged for him again, taking aim at his helm. Just before the claws could smash through his face and tear his processor into pieces, he managed to reach up with both servos and grab the tentacle, stopping it mere inches from his optics. However, Soundwave began stepping closer, pushing his tentacle harder against the grip holding it back, and Knockout started to feel his digits slipping. He leaned away but the spinning claws continued slowly closing in.

"AUGH! You fragging _maniac_!" Knockout stumbled backwards, still struggling with the tentacle and trying to keep it from mutilating his face, "You- you can't… do this!"

Soundwave responded by stepping closer, pushing harder against his resisting servos. Knockout had backed himself against a wall again; trapped between Soundwave's attack and the solid metal behind him. The tentacle slid slightly through his digits again, and Knockout turned his helm away. The very tips of the claws began skimming across his temple just behind his optic, tearing up the paint and scraping the soft metal underneath.

As if sensing his impending termination, Knockout felt a sudden surge in his spark. With all the strength he had, he tightened his grasp on Soundwave's tentacle and slowly managed to pull it away from his helm. However, he couldn't keep the tentacle at bay forever, and the claws were still only a short distance from tearing into him. He had to act quickly while there was still time. He released the grip of one of his servos, transformed it into his saw blade, and drove it deep into Soundwave's tentacle.

Letting out a sound somewhat like a hiss, Soundwave stumbled and pulled his tentacle away, splashing energon across the floor between the two 'Cons.

Knockout didn't hesitate, transforming his servo back, he pulled out his energon staff from where it was clipped to his side and lunged for Soundwave.

Having lost use of his one unoccupied tentacle, Soundwave had to quickly free up the other one. Taking a few steps back to give himself more space between the two, he flicked his tentacle to the side, sending Jack skidding across the floor. With his tentacle now unencumbered, he thrust it towards Knockout as he descended on him.

However those few moments in which he had to rid himself of the human were critical, allowing Knockout to see the attack coming and avoid letting the tentacle pierce his chassis. He couldn't dodge it completely though, and instead the rotating claws drove into his side. The red 'Con cried out in pain, but regardless, he continued pushing forward and shoved his energon prod towards the connecting wiring of Soundwave's neck.

There wasn't time to dodge, and with his tentacle still lodged in Knockout's side trapping him in place, he was forced to take the full brunt of the prod's attack. After faltering backwards for a moment, the 'Con finally went crashing to the floor.

As his surge was wearing off, Knockout doubled over as he began to really feel the painful throbbing in his side, but he managed to keep his footing. Still grasping his staff tightly in one servo, clutching his injured side with the other and venting heavily, he glared down at Soundwave's unconscious form in front of him.

…He had just fought _Soundwave._ By every right he should have been dead. It was a miracle he had managed to even land a blow on the 'Con let alone take him down.

Yet, as the initial awe of the moment passed, he felt an encroaching sense of horror as he started to realize exactly what had just happened. Dropping his staff, he staggered back until he hit the wall and slid to the ground, his optics wide and terrified.

"Oh no… No! What have I done?!" he cried, placing his helm in his servos. His processor was racing, his spark fluttering out of control as he took fast and short intakes, "They'll never believe I'm innocent after this! No…. No, I… I'm- OH FRAG! What am I supposed to do now?!"

Just as he was about to plunge into a full on panic attack, Knockout was suddenly pulled back from his anxiety by a small coughing sound. He looked up to see Jack standing in front of him with a nervous smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack wasn't entirely sure if he believed in miracles, but if he had to explain just how perfectly this situation had worked out for him, he probably would have found some use in the term. Not three minutes ago he had been resigned to a horrible and gruesome fate at the hands of the Decepticons. Then suddenly his captor, Soundwave, had been taken out, courtesy of the medic he had just framed for treason. Jack was free. This was his chance for escape!

Though he had no delusions of being able to get off the warship on his own. He was going to need some help… And since Knockout appeared to be in need of some assistance himself, Jack figured he might just be able to convince the 'Con that they had to work together here.

However, it seemed like Knockout wasn't amused by his suggestion. "Escape together?!" he scoffed, "I'm not _actually_ a traitor, you little skinbag!" He leaned forward, glaring down at the human, "Besides, it's you and your slagging Autobot friends' fault this is happening to me at all! So why shouldI bother to help you?"

Jack took a deep, deliberate breath as he tried to pull the words he needed together in his head. This was a delicate situation, and he had to be very careful with what he said in order to make Knockout see this his way.

"Look, Knockout-" he began, stepping towards the 'Con, "I get it, okay? You're a Decepticon, and you've got no reason to trust me or the 'Bots… but you've also gotta face facts: you've gotta get off this ship. You really don't have any other options here; if you stay and Megatron gets his claws on you after seeing _this_ -" he gestured over to the unconscious Soundwave, "…Well, you _might_ have some trouble hanging onto your spark chamber, is what I'm saying."

Knockout turned his gaze over to the offlined mech with his optics narrowed, "Hmm, you could be right…" he mumbled, "I'm slagged if I stay on the Nemesis." he groaned and rest his face in his servos again, "Ughhh! But if I run all the Decepticons are going to come after me… I'm going to wind up like slaggin' _Starscream_!"

"Not necessarily-" Knockout peeked out from behind his servos, Jack had come even closer. If he wanted to, he could reach out and touch Knockout's ankle, "See, that's what I was trying to get at: if we escaped together- if you were to help _me_ out of here too… then the 'Bots would be pretty grateful. They might even be willing to let you-"

"Whoa. Stop right there." Knockout interrupted, "…you're not actually suggesting that I could-"

"-join the Autobots…?"

Jack wasn't quite sure what reaction he was expecting, but it wasn't the one he got. Knockout stared at him blankly for a minute before tossing back his helm and absolutely _roaring_ in laughter. The 'Con's entire frame shook as he tipped forward, grasping his injured side from the strain it was causing on his midsection. Regardless of the pain, he was unable to stop his mirthful howling.

"And… and to think-" he managed to gasp between his bursts of laughter, "I almost…took you _seriously_ for a moment there! HA HA HA!"

"Wha-? But… I am being serious!" Jack insisted, but Knockout ignored him.

Bracing himself against the wall, the 'Con pushed himself up into a standing position, still clutching his side. "No… No, I-I can fix this." he mumbled to himself, stepping past Jack and over towards Soundwave. He glared down at the mech as he continued, "I can prove I'm innocent- I can still show Megatron that Soundwave and Laserbeak have the virus inside them… maybe then-"

"Come on, Knockout, you know that's not going to cut it now!" Jack shouted, following him over to Soundwave, "He's unconscious. As far as Megatron knows, you could have uploaded the code into Soundwave after you took him down to try and frame him."

After mulling this over for a moment Knockout mumbled, " _Slag it_ …" clenching his servos, he turned and approached the console, "There's got to be some way out of this!"

"You could escape with me and j-"

"Okay, it was funny the first time but now you're starting to grind at my sensors." Knockout started typing on the console, apparently searching for some sort of date stamp on the virus's entry into the system. He wasn't going to find one and some small part of him knew that, but he was desperate… and a mech could still hope.

"I really am serious!" Jack said, approaching the 'Con again, " _Please_ , Knockout! I know you're a Decepticon, but that doesn't mean you can't change. I'm sure even you have the capacity for good."

Knockout finally turned, glowering down at the human, "UGH. Capacity for good? You sound like Prime." Stepping towards Jack, he knelt down to get closer to his level, "I know you're just an ignorant human, so the timespan I'm describing is probably beyond your comprehension, but I've been fighting against the Autobots for millenia. The things I've been through- …You have _no idea_ the implications of what you're suggesting, so just STOP **.** " With that he snatched Jack up and placed him on the console so he couldn't run off, "Now shut up and sit still while I figure this out."

Jack sat where Knockout dropped him on the console for a minute feeling somewhat dazed. Knockout had a point; Jack really didn't have any idea how taxing the war had been, not just for the 'Bots, but for the 'Cons as well. He should have known this wouldn't be so simple. As he looked back up at Knockout typing frantically at the computer, he figured he might as well start thinking of another way out of there.

Glancing around, Jack spotted the red Autobot relic sitting on the console behind him. Knockout must have placed it there when he'd initially found the virus. He started wondering what exactly the disk was and if maybe it could be used to escape… No. That was pointless. He didn't even know what the thing did. Plus it was sized for a Cybertronian to use, and even if Knockout would join forces, the Decepticon wouldn't know anything about the Autobot technology either.

Jack was turning away when a small silver gleam caught his eye. Looking back again he noticed, just peeking out from behind the relic, the rectangular frame of the laptop Knockout had taken from Raf. He'd kept it! And he could see the black wireless card still plugged into the side. Now there was something Jack could use to escape, and he wouldn't even have to get Knockout to cooperate for this to work!

He was about to rush over to the computer and send a message to the Autobots, but then he recalled what Raf had said about tracing back the signal; something about software and IPs. He hadn't really payed attention to the technical jargon, but he did remember Raf saying there was no pinning down a location from the connection. If he'd been able to block it from the view of the 'Cons in all their advanced technological prowess, there was no way the 'Bots would be able to pinpoint his location with just their Earth-based computers.

He looked back over to Knockout, still typing on the console and looking increasingly frustrated. It looked like Jack was still going to need his help, but how to go about convincing him? Especially after he'd just made it pretty clear he was a dedicated Decepticon.

Then Jack had a thought: "So wait… you've been a Decepticon for literally _millions_ of years, right?"

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

"No, really- I get it. A lot can go down in that much time… You've probably sacrificed a lot for the Decepticons, huh?"

"….What's your point?"

"After all that service and sacrifice- everything you've done for him… Well… It's just that Megatron was pretty easily convinced you were a traitor. And seemed even more eager to terminate you."

Knockout paused in his typing again and lowered his gaze. When he didn't reply Jack continued: "Y'know, for all the trouble he puts you 'Cons through, I don't really get the sense that you're getting a whole lot in return. I won't pretend know your history- maybe it used to be different, but now- a-at least the way I see it… it just seems like he's just on this blind _warpath_ against Optimus, and the rest of you Decepticons are the ones getting caught up in the crossfire."

Still Knockout said nothing, choosing instead to glare down at his servos hovering, immobile, over the keypad. His optics were narrowed and he was clearly processing Jack's words very intensely. Finally, he turned to the human, "Okay, let's _pretend_ for a minute that….. well- maybe you have a few good points, but- Why should I….?" he was muttering , still trying to pull together his own thoughts and struggling with them.

The 'Con was faltering, which told Jack that he was finally starting to get through to him. "On the other hand," he began again, "The way the Autobots treat each other- the way Optimus treats his team- it's nothing like Megatron… You 'Cons probably just do what he tells you because otherwise he'll pound the scrap out of you. But, even when I was still new in their group I could tell, with the 'Bots there's this… respect, I guess is the word. It keeps them together. They're like a _family_. They actually care about each other."

"Well… I'm not exactly family material." Knockout grumbled, looking away again, "What makes you think I care about that sentimental junk, anyway?"

"Oh. Well… I don't know. I just thought it was something everyone wanted…" The look Knockout suddenly gave Jack made him quickly realize he was starting down a road he didn't want to be on, and inquiring as to why wouldn't win him any points either. "B-but I'm getting a bit off subject." he corrected, "The point is, _I'm_ part of that family too. And if you help me out of here, the 'Bots would definitely be willing to return the favor."

"For the last time, I'm NOT just going to up and join the slagging Autobots!"

"I know! I didn't mean that you had to." Jack raised his hands defensively, "But, don't you think you should _at least_ be on the good side of one of these factions? I mean, it's pretty much sold that the 'Cons are against you now, so having the 'Bots owe you one might not be such a bad thing, right?"

Knockout placed a digit on his chin thoughtfully, "Hmm… You know… you're actually starting to make some sense." he mused, a smirk finding its way onto his face. He paused another minute before folding his arms across his chassis definitively, "…Alright. You win." He said with a slight shrug, "I guess this really **is** my best option, so… what's your escape plan, kid?"

* * *

The mood at the Autobot base was gloomy at best. Ratchet and Raf were the only ones moving with any sort of urgency as they worked vehemently on their corresponding computers (Raf's borrowed from Miko). The rest of the team was somewhat still and quiet. There wasn't much to be said at a time like this.

Ratchet turned to face the others, "I'm afraid with this technology there's… not much more I can do." he said reluctantly, "I'm just unable to locate the Decepticons with their cloaking technology still operational."

"There's gotta be _something_ we can do." Bulkhead insisted, "We were able to find Fowler when he was nabbed by the 'Cons."

"Jack isn't a government agent; he doesn't have a tracking device on him." Raf replied, "…and I've tried tracing the signal of his phone, but it must be blocked by the Nemesis' shields. Kind of like what we have here at the base."

There was another long silence before Ratchet spoke up again, "Speaking of which, I should check in again with Agent Fowler." he grumbled, "I don't know if he's made any progress trying to locate Jack, but there's not much else…" his sentence trailed off as he turned back to his computer.

As Ratchet called up Fowler, Arcee moved away and took a seat on the opposite end of the room, keeping her helm tilted towards the ground trying not to listen. Bumblebee took notice and followed after her.

" _BeeepboopwhhhzzzzRRRRRRRRbee eeeep_ " he reached out to place a servo on her shoulder.

She pulled away from his reach, " _Don't._ " she snapped, her voice almost breaking. Her servos grasped tightly at the edges of the ledge she sat on, "It's… It's my fault. I never should have brought him along… I should have known better! And now-"

"Arcee, taking Jack with you does not make this your doing." Optimus interjected, " We had every reason to assume the Decepticons would have no means of locating us; there was no way you could have foreseen what happened on that mission. And… If blame is to be assigned to anyone… it should be me."

" _whhhhzzzRRRTT?!_ "

"What?" Bulkhead repeated, "Optimus, how is this your fault?"

"I cannot help but feel had I heeded Jack's advice and released Soundwave's fellow Decepticon, he might have been willing to do the same…"

"That's ridiculous!" Ratchet said turning back to face his leader, "To show clemency towards an Autobot or one of our friends- Megatron would view it as an act of betrayal. And this is _Soundwave_ we're talking about. The most loyal Decepticon there is."

Optimus turned his gaze downward, "Perhaps…" he said, "But the irony of our situations being so quickly reversed was not lost on me… and I can't help but wonder if this might have transpired differently had I shown mercy to Knockout."

"Well wondering about "what if's" and assigning blame isn't going to get Jack home any faster." Ratchet said turning back to the console, "Agent Fowler said he will keep in contact should any means of locating him be discovered… He has also contacted June for us."

"Oh _Primus!_ " Arcee dropped her helm into her servos, "How am I going to face her after this?!"

The only response came as a sad whirr from Bumblebee. Then the same grim silence descended on the room again. It continued this way for several minutes until a loud beeping emanated from Ratchet's computer. "What-?" he exclaimed, looking surprised up at the screen, "There's an incoming transmission!"

"From who?"

"I… don't know. I can't seem to trace the signal back…" His gaze became hard, "It could be the Decepticons looking for some sort of ransom."

"Accept the call." Optimus ordered.

Ratchet nodded and pressed a button on his keyboard, opening up a communication link.

"Hello?" he offered, "Who is this?"

" _RATCHET!_ " Came the immediate response, " _Oh_ WOW _, it's good to hear your voice!_ "

"JACK!" Arcee scrambled to her feet and ran up to the console, practically shoving Ratchet out of the way, "Jack, are you hurt? What's going on?!"

" _No, Arcee I'm okay… hang on lemme just-_ " as he spoke these last few words, a live video appeared on the screen of Jack crouching over the computer, _"Alright!_ There _you are!_ " he said with a wide smile.

"How is this possible?" Ratchet was apparently stunned, though still pleased, by this turn of events, "The Decepticons must have some sort of signal dampeners on their ship; how are you calling us?"

"He must have my computer!" Raf answered, leaning over the railing to get a better view of Jack on the screen, "But last time I saw it Knockout had it. How did you get it away from him?"

" _Uhhhh yeah. About Knockout… he's kind of- WHOA, HEY!_ " Jack was suddenly interrupted by a clawed servo sweeping him to the side and away from the laptop's camera, and Knockout's stepped into view.

" _Enough formalities! Step aside, so the big bots can talk!_ "

"NO! Don't hurt Jack!" Arcee cried.

"Knockout!" Optimus stepped forward, "Please, I know our last encounter was-"

" _Save it, Prime!_ " came the harsh response, " _As much fun as it would be to hear you_ beg **,** _I'm in a scrapload of trouble here and I_ really _don't have time for one of your speeches… besides your little human friend here already gave me the full spiel._ "

"Wait, what?… What exactly is going on over there?" Arcee asked.

Jack popped back into the camera view, " _It's kind of complicated, but the short version is that Knockout's been framed by Soundwave. Y'know that virus Raf made? Well, Megatron thinks Knockout introduced it now._ "

" _Yeah, so thanks a lot for that._ " Knockout added, " _But I'm willing overlook both that and the fact that Prime was about to turn my face into a_ smoldering crater _not ten minutes ago, if it means I can get off this ship before Megatron gets his servos on me._ "

"Well we can't send a groundbridge," Ratchet said, "Something is interfering with me tracing back your signal."

" _Yeah, I know. That's Raf's computer with its proxy or whatever._ " Jack explained, " _But Knockout said he's willing to give you our current coordinates if-_ "

"IF _you agree to my conditions._ " Knockout interrupted.

"And what are those?" Optimus inquired.

" _Well, I hate to say so, but I'm at kind of a disadvantage here so I'm just going to have to take your word on this… but once we're back at your base or wherever_ _your bridge operates from, I want safe passage out_ _of there. I don't plan on escaping Megatron just to become an Autobot prisoner._ "

"Is that all?" Ratchet asked.

" _No. I'll also be needing you to let me keep_ this _._ " He held up the Resonance Blaster, freshly detached from Soundwave's arm. " _I'm going to be running from the Decepticons; I'll need the advantage a weapon like this provides… Oh, and one more thing- I don't want any of you 'Bots coming after me. If I'm going to be rogue on this slagging planet, I at least don't want to have to worry about you lot giving me grief…_ " he hesitated for a moment, " _Aaand… I suppose I'll_ _agree to do my best to be amicable as well._ "

Ratchet looked back, questioning to Optimus, but there was no hesitation from the Autobot leader, "If you can ensure Jack's safe return, we are more than willing to accept your conditions." he said, "Provide the coordinates and we will bridge you both out."

* * *

Back on the Nemesis Knockout smiled down at the tiny computer, "I'm glad we could come to an agreement." he said standing up straight. He clipped the Resonance Blaster in his servo to the door on his arm and made towards the larger console's keypad, "Just a moment, I'll check them precisely. We wouldn't want you to send a bridge to the wrong room and let some Vehicons wander through, now would w-?"

However before he was able to begin typing, the computer came to life on its own and suddenly the image of Megatron filled the screen in front of them!

"Soundwave what is taking-" when he saw Knockout standing there he cut off his sentence suddenly, his gaze wide and shocked. After what was only a second, but seemed longer, his optics flared and his face became contorted with rage, "KNOCKOUT!" he screamed, "YOU TRAITOROUS SCRAP OF RUST! _WHERE IS SOUNDWAVE?!_ "

"L-lord Megatron!" Knockout backed away from the console, "Th-this isn't what it looks like! I can explain-"

But Megatron didn't wait to hear, his snarling face disappeared as he cut off the comm link. However, it only remained absent for a moment before reappearing, this time on the main screen as well as the four, smaller surrounding ones. His voice echoed through the room and out in the hallway as he spoke, indicating this address was being heard throughout the entire ship.

"ATTENTION, Decepticons!" he shouted, "There is a traitor loose on the Nemesis! Your medical officer Knockout is consorting with the _Autobots_. Disable access to all consoles! I don't want him contacting his friends or snaking any more information out of our data core!"

"OH SCRAP, _NO_!" Knockout rushed forward, typing frantically on the console in front of him, trying to quickly bring up coordinates, but as he was in the middle of typing a command, the keypad gave off a loud dismissive BEEP that signaled its shut down. Knockout looked up in dismay at Megatron's image, still on the screen as he continued speaking.

"The traitor is in the data archives! Bring Knockout and his little human friend to me, preferably _alive-_ but I am willing to look past it if he is already in _pieces_."


	6. Chapter 6

Though Megatron's face had disappeared from the screen of the disabled computer, Knockout continued to stare up at the display with wide, terrified optics. He had been so close! If the earlier conversation had been just ten nanocycles faster, he would have had the coordinates and disappeared through the 'Bots groundbridge before Megatron had been any wiser.

Now he was stuck, frozen in place, trying to wrap his head around this new situation. There was an entire crew of Decepticons after him, probably all headed to his very location and eager to sink their claws into the supposed double-crosser. And there he was; a ground based vehicle trapped on a warship soaring miles above solid ground. What was he going to do now? What _could_ he do?

As he stood in stunned silence in front of the console, he was vaguely aware of a small thumping on his forearm. Finally pulling his gaze away from the blank screen, he looked down and noticed Jack pounding his fist against his arm, still extended over the keypad, and trying desperately to get his attention.

" _KNOCKOUT_!" he was shouting, "Don't just stand there! They know where we are now; it's not safe here! We gotta go!"

… _We?_

No, but Jack was right! The data archives were about to be flooded with Vehicons… or _worse._ This was no time to panic; he had to act fast. Thinking of an escape plan would have to come once they were on the move… and Jack and the Autobots might be the ones to come up with that plan. So it would be good to keep the human around… at least for now.

Knockout reached out his servo for the human, "Right. Come on, then."

Jack, balancing the still open laptop in his hand, stepped into Knockout's open palm. He wrapped his arm around one of the sharp digits to steady himself as Knockout lifted his servo and hurried for the door.

"Oh wait! We forgot-" Jack shouted pointing back at the console. Knockout turned back and saw what Jack meant; they'd forgotten the other Autobot relic.

He hesitated, wondering if it would even be worth toting around while they would be busy running through the Nemesis trying not to get killed. Although, the Autobots might recognize the technology, and if he could use it to escape… He trotted back over to the computer and began to reach for the relic with his free servo.

"It's an Autobot relic, so maybe your friends will know what-" he began, but cut off by the door behind him sliding open with a loud swoosh. Spinning around, he was greeted by a group of six Vehicons with their blasters poised to fire.

"Knockout! Surrender yourself!" one of them commanded. The drones' lasers were already humming in anticipation of firing.

"Scrap!" Knockout felt a surge of panic, and raised his arm in a weak attempt to shield himself. As he did he noticed the short black gun still clipped to his door frame… the Resonance Blaster!

He quickly tossed Jack back onto the computer console behind him as he raised his other arm to fire the sonic weapon. The Vehicons opened fire just before him, but Knockout was able to dodge their shots easily before unleashing his own attack.

The 'Cons cried out in pain as the sound wracked their systems; Knockout sneered down at them as they doubled over clutching at their audio receptors. If the blaster had such a strong effect on the other 'Cons too, he might actually stand a chance of getting out of there. He continued the blast for another minute before finally lowering his arm. The Vehicons lay sprawled across each other groaning in agony, some still clutching at their helms.

"Wow! That thing is _really_ powerful."

Knockout looked back to the human, his expression still with that smug grin, "We 'Con scientists don't mess around when it comes to weapons."

"Rrrnghh…"

The two of them looked back over to the Vehicons and saw one of them pulling himself up onto his knees and began raising his servo to the comm link on his head. Knockout's smirk faded as he drew out his saw blade, "Slag it…" he grumbled, "I suppose it can't be helped-"

Jack turned his head away as Knockout lunged forward and his blade slashed through each of the helpless drones, spraying energon across the floor and walls, their pained cries only magnifying the horror of the sound. Finally the buzz of the saw blade stopped and Jack looked back. Knockout was standing amidst the Vehicon's bodies, his arms dripping with spilt energon. He vented heavily as he stepped over the twisted metal and approached Jack again, leaving a trail of energon from the puddles he had stepped in as well as his own wound, which was now leaking even more from his exertion.

"Huh, a bit ironic; I'm usually the one who'd have to patch them up after they have a run in with… well… you know." he mused as he reached the console again. His tone tried to remain light but his downturned optics betrayed a more displeased reaction.

Jack glanced back at the pile of bodies cluttering the doorway, "Uhh yeah…" he grumbled, "But there'll be more of them on the way, regardless. We should probably split."

"Sure," Knockout agreed, "but we've got a short moment of respite here- let's think about where we should actually be going. It won't do us any good to go gallivanting all about the ship with no plan."

" _Don't you have an area for groundbridge control or something?_ " Arcee's voice came over the computer.

"Of course, but Megatron just had all the consoles shut down, remember?!" Knockout snapped, "I wouldn't be able to power the bridge!"

" _What about if you took out the main power core like when_ I _was trapped on-_ "

"NO." Knockout interrupted Bulkhead, "That was a stupid idea _then_ and it's a stupid idea _now._ It's a miracle everyone on the ship wasn't killed during that little stunt, including you **.** "

" _BEEPboooZZZZZREEEEEEPwhrrrrr rrrrrrrBEEEEEP?_ "

"Oh _please_! As if we would let something like that go unchecked. Despite what you may think, the Decepticons aren't stupid."

Jack groaned and rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced around the room, shifting his stance slightly. "Well there's gotta be something we haven't thought of yet." he insisted.

" _Wait!_ "

Jack turned his attention back down to the laptop in his hands, "What is it, Ratchet?"

" _Over there- That red disk behind you. Is that the Autobot relic you mentioned?_ "

Jack positioned the laptop so it was in full view of the camera, and Knockout reached over and lifted the disk to give Ratchet a better view.

"So you do recognize it?" Knockout asked, "Something actually useful, I hope?"

" _By the Allspark!_ " Ratchet's voice came through the speakers, " _That looks like an aerial transformation adapter!_ "

"A what now?"

" _It's an old Autobot emergency device that ground-based vehicle modes used to employ to get around faster or escape from land-based attacks that-_ "

"Hold on-" Knockout interrupted, "Are you saying this thing is like a compressed jet pack?!"

" _Yes, that's_ exactly _what it is!_ " came the excited response, " _The technology was abandoned eons ago because it hinders the body from utilizing any of its natural transformations when in use, but for your purposes-_ "

Knockout lifted his servo to inspect the disk closer, "-it's _just_ what the doctor ordered." he finished with a satisfied smirk.

"This is perfect!" Jack continued, "We can use that to fly right off the ship!"

Knockout lowered his servo slightly and turned his optics back down to the human, "We?" he repeated.

Jack's hopeful expression fell, "Wha- Yeah WE…" he mumbled, "We're together on this, right?"

"We were when I thought I needed your 'Bots and their groundbridge." Knockout turned towards the door, "But since I've got this, it looks like that's no longer the case."

"WHAT?! No, but- what about everything I said before about-"

"Sorry kid, but as far as I'm concerned you're just dead weight from here on out." Knockout said striding out into the hallway, he turned back and gave a short wave, "Good luck on your own. You'll probably be needing it." With that he transformed into his vehicle mode and zoomed down the hallway out of sight.

"Knockout WAIT!" Jack clutching the computer close to his chest, carefully jumped over the side of the console. He landed sloppily, but managed to keep the laptop from hitting the ground. Regaining his feet he ran for the door where the 'Con had disappeared, splashing through pools of the Vehicon's energon as he did so.

"AUGH! _That spawn of a GLITCH!_ " Arcee's enraged voice emanated from the computer as Jack ran, " _I just knew he'd pull something like this._ "

Out in the hallway Jack spotted Knockout disappearing around a distant corner, "Oh man…" he groaned, "Looks like I'm back to square one over here."

" _It's not as bad as it may seem_." Ratchet said, " _You still have contact with us, and the Decepticons will be mostly likely be focused on hunting down Knockout for now. If you can find a safe place to hide we'll have enough time to figure something else out._ "

Jack inhaled deeply trying to keep himself calm, "Right." he mumbled, "Just gotta try not to panic… and find a nice empty room somewhere." To start with, if he wanted to avoid the 'Cons hunting Knockout, going the same way as him wasn't in his best interest. So he turned and started running in the opposite direction. However, he didn't make it far before he suddenly stopped, frozen in place.

"Oh scrap…" he mumbled. Just ahead the hallway made a sharp turn and a group of three Insecticons had just turned the corner and were headed straight for him! "R-Ratchet…" he stammered backing away quickly, "I-I think we need to figure something out faster!"


	7. Chapter 7

The Insecticon let out one of its distinct shrieks as it spotted Jack up ahead. Its two comrades, who were each clinging to opposite walls, snarled appreciatively at his warning and lunged forward onto the floor and began galloping towards the human.

" _JACK,_ RUN _!_ "

As if he even needed the 'Bots to tell him that. Turning on his heel Jack broke out in a full sprint back the way he came, through the expanding pool of energon from the Vehicons. Though running didn't do much good; the Insecticon was upon him in just a matter of seconds. As its massive shadow fell across him, he began to turn back to catch a glimpse of it. However, twisting about made him slip in the energon he'd been running through, sending him crashing to the ground and jarring the laptop from his grasp.

The Insecticon above him gave a delighted screech and raised its claw to strike. Jack turned his head away, shutting his eyes tight, not wanting to watch the claw that would descend and crush him.

"WAIT." Jack cracked one eye open as the first and largest Insecticon came up behind the other who still had his claw raised over the human. The beast continued in its gruff voice, "Lord Megatron wanted the traitor and his pet alive."

The smaller Insecticon let out a string of irritated clicks and slowly lowered its claw, "But Hardshell, if we can't kill it, how are we supposed to handle the thing?" it asked, turning its gaze away from the human to look back, "It's just a thin bag of _skin_ \- if we touch the thing it might pop."

Jack flinched at the 'Con's words. That was not something he wanted to imagine right now. He looked back and saw the laptop had skittered to a stop a few yards away. The screen was facing towards him and he was still able to see the concerned faces of the Autobots on the video feed. His first thought was that he was thankful the Insecticon hadn't squashed him right there where his friends would have a front row seat. His second thought was to to start wondering how he was going to get away from the Insecticons. He wasn't feeling too optimistic about that second thought.

Before he could ponder too much about it, he felt cold steel clamping around him and he was lifted roughly into the air. "You shouldn't underestimate it, Kickback- if they're so _squishy_ , how did it do this?" With is other claw he gestured over to the dismantled Vehicons in the doorway of the Archives, still leaking energon across the floor.

A loud clang resounded in the hall as the Insecticon, apparently called Kickback, swung his claw out, backhanding the other across his shoulder, "Don't be stupid! This is clearly the work of the traitor." he snapped, then looked back to Hardshell, "We're wasting time holding onto this flesh ball; the _human_ isn't nearly as important as catching that treasonous scum, Knockout.

"Quiet! I'll decide what's important." Hardshell growled savagely, then proceeded to shove Kickback out of the way and circle around the other Insecticon. He lowered his head to Jack's level and looked the human straight in the face, his single metallic mandible giving a slight twitch, "Human! Where has the medic gone? What is your plan?" he demanded, "Speak quickly and I may be convinced to stop Shrapnel from _relieving_ you of your limbs."

Jack felt the claws around him constrict, the sharp tips digging into his back as the 'Con holding him, Shrapnel, let out an eager hiss.

He hesitated in answering… not for Knockout's sake- but because he was trying and failing to very quickly come up with an answer that would benefit him. These Insecticons may have been more interested in capturing Knockout, but that didn't necessarily mean it was going to be easier to slip away from them… and considering how his escape plan was still _in process_ at the moment, any opportunity he was given to have some influence on the situation had to be carefully considered.

However, it seemed the Insecticons were not patient creatures. Shrapnel took the hesitation for resistance and tightened his claw around Jack, drawing a pained cry from the human which in turn evoked a satisfied growl from the 'Con. "I wonder what kind of sound you will make when I pull you apart by your actuators." he hissed as he began raising his other claw.

Jack leaned away as best he could as it closed in on him. "No! No wait-" he cried. He still had to figure out how to get away from the Insecticons, but he figured keeping his body intact for as long as possible was a more pressing priority… and since he hadn't yet come up with a clever lie to help himself escape, the Insecticons would have to settle for the truth-

"L-Look he just went that way." Jack gestured towards Hardshell to indicate the hallway behind him, "I don't know where he was going, okay?"

Hardshell stood up straight, glaring down at the human, " _HA_! Don't take me for a fool, fleshling!" he spat, "I know you're not telling us everything."

"I swear it's the truth… he went off to escape by himself a-and just… _left_ me here!"

Another ferocious growl; "That is a poor lie, human. Autobots are notorious in their affinity for the weak and helpless- Do you expect me to believe one of them would leave a _squishy_ thing like you to fend for yourself?"

"Wow. I really wish you hadn't said that."

Hardshell looked back around to be greeted by Knockout standing a ways down the hall where he'd come around the corner moments before, and he looked very displeased.

"I mean, being called an _Autobot_ and then doing almost exactly what you said one would do-" he continued shaking his head, "UGH **.** It's making me regret coming back for the little vermin."

Hardshell turned around fully and snarled; "HA. _I_ will give you something to regret, Autobot traitor!" then, releasing a feral shriek, the Insecticon lunged forward, claws drawn back to strike.

Without wasting a second, Knockout raised his arm and sent a barrage of sonic waves down the hall towards all three Insecticons. Hardshell only crossed about half the distance between them before he was sent reeling back covering his audio receptors and crying out in pain. The other two were similarly affected, clutching at their helms and adding their own agonized screeching to Hardshell's.

"You bugs sure make quite a racket." Knockout smirked, pulling his arm up and ceasing his attack, "Luckily so can I." he indicated the weapon with a quick tap from his servo, which was also still grapsing the Autobot relic.

Hardshell stumbled back farther, lowering his servos slightly, "The Resonance Blaster…" There was a moment's hesitation before finally he turned to his fellows and shouted, "Insecticons- RETREAT!"

After feeling the weapon's devastating effect first hand, Kickback and Shrapnel didn't need to be told twice. Transforming to their insect modes they hurriedly flew the other way down the hall. Hardshell watched them go, then glared back at Knockout, "Don't think this is over, traitor." he hissed. Then turned and flew after his comrades.

Knockout finally lowered his arm and proceeded down the hallway. Shrapnel had dropped Jack when the sonic blast had hit him in favor of holding his audio receptors, and the human still lay where he'd fallen.

Dropping down to one knee, Knockout leaned forward and poked Jack sharply in the ribs, "Oh Primus- Don't tell me that little fall _broke_ you." he grumbled.

Jack responded with a short cry and doubled over grasping where Knockout had jabbed him, "OW! No, I… I'll be okay." he groaned sitting up, "Just a little battered is all…"

"Good… It would've been troublesome if it turns out I'd come back all for nothing."

Jack pushed himself up into a standing position, though noticeably keeping a bit of weight off his left leg. "Uhh yeah… not that I'm complaining or anything but… why _did_ you come back?"

"It's _not_ because I have an affinity for weak things _._ " he insisted. Then he paused, strumming his pointed digits along his knee joint distractedly, "I _suppose_ it's because I sort of… owe you for trying to save me from Prime earlier… and maybe a little bit of that other scrap you said before…" he continued in a mumble.

"Well… thanks." Jack said with a smile. Then started as he remembered, "Arcee!" he ran past Knockout over to where he'd dropped the laptop, "Are you still there?" he called, reaching down to grab the screen.

"Yes! Yes, we're still here, Jack!" came her voice, washed in relief.

Back at the base things had gotten pretty tense for a minute there. With Jack facing impossible odds against three Insecticons and the 'Bots forced to listen helplessly as they prepared to torture information out of him… well, needless to say, they were all still a bit jittery from the prospect.

Up on the screen Jack's face came back into view, " _Oh good._ " he said, smiling down at them, " _If this thing had cut out during that whole… Well I wouldn't want_ that _to be the last you heard from me._ "

"Don't waste any more time." Ratchet cut in, "You two need to get moving… That is- assuming _Knockout_ is still going to take you with him…?"

" _Yeah yeah fine…_ " came a curt reply, Knockout's ankle coming into view behind Jack as the 'Con stood up. Jack turned towards him and stepped into a servo he'd lowered for the human.

Arcee stepped closer to the console, slamming her servos down angrily, "Don't take this lightly, Knockout! Jack's depending on you right now-" she shouted, "And I swear on _Vector Sigma_ , if he doesn't make it back here safely, then you'd better _hope_ Megatron gets his servos on you before I do."

" _Yikes._ "As Jack was lifted higher Knockout's face came into view, his gaze turned towards the human, " _See there's another reason why I came back- your 'Bot girlfriend is CRAZY **.** You can just see it in her optics._"

"This isn't a joke!"

" _Relax! I'll take good care of your squishy friend here._ "Knockout proceeded to tap Jack's head lightly with one of his digits, " _Besides, so long as I've got this sonic weapon, we shouldn't have any problem getting-_ "

_*CLANG*_

Suddenly the view on screen was a blurr of indecipherable motion. A moment later there was a definitive crack as the laptop struck the ground. The image was sideways and starting to fuzz over from the damage to the computer, but it was still just barely there.

"JACK!" Arcee called, "Jack where are you- What's happening?!"

" _Knockout! Watch out for-_ "

" _GAAAAH!_ "

A spray of energon spattered across the floor in front of the screen. More shouting and then, " _Use the blaster_ -" " _It's not affecting- OH SCRAP!_ "

Another resounding _clang_ and then the unmistakable whirrs and grinding of a transformation cog. Not a second later Knockout zoomed past in vehicle mode, leaving a spotty trail of energon along the floor.

" _ARCEE, I'll call you on my cell phone when we're-_ " Jack's voice could be heard fading into the distance, his last few words drowned out by a loud thumping as the legs of Soundwave went sprinting by.


	8. Chapter 8

"FRAG. How did I fraggin' forget about _Soundwave_?! I mean I knew he wouldn't stay down for long but-" Knockout's last few words were lost in the loud screech of his tires and the roar of his engine as he fish tailed around a corner and zoomed down the hallway.

Jack twisted around in the seat and looked through Knockout's rear window, watching as Soundwave came around the corner after them. "H-he's still after us!"

"Yeah, thanks for the _tip_. I couldn't see that for myself." Suddenly Jack felt himself twisted around and pulled down into the seat as Knockout's seatbelt strapped him firmly into place, "You'll probably to want to be buckled up for this."

In one smooth motion, Knockout turned his wheel sharply to the left spinning himself around, and shifted into reverse, continuing to drive away from Soundwave but now facing the 'Con as he approached. As he sped backwards down the hall, he let out a sonic blast from the weapon still clipped to his door.

Soundwave was visibly shaken by the attack; he paused his pursuit for a moment, his lower arms and digits trembling slightly. However the Resonance Blaster's effect on him appeared to be no where near as devastating as it had been on its other victims as he was only immobilized for a moment, and then still able to keep up the chase.

"What the slag?!" Knockout shouted, "It's _barely_ affecting him!"

"Well he is Soundwave…" Jack offered, "Maybe there's more to it than just being a name?"

Knockout's only reply was a frustrated growl as he spun his wheel, turning back around and driving forwards again. The force of the turn jerked Jack sideways, despite the seatbelt wrapped around him, and he hit his head on Knockout's window. He groaned as he twisted back around, "Aaaghh… c-could you maybe be a little gentler?" he grumbled rubbing his head, "It's been kind of a rough day-"

"I have more important things to worry about than your _comfort_!" Knockout interrupted angrily, "Like how the frag are we going to shake Soundwave?"

As he finished speaking he took a hard turn, swerving around another corner. He drove just a bit further before slamming on his brakes. Dreadwing and a group of no less than seven Vehicons were coming straight at them.

Spotting Knockout ahead, Dreadwing paused and pulled out his blaster cannon, "Knockout!" he called, "Don't make this any harder than it has to be; give yourself up!" The Vehicons around him followed his lead and readied their blasters.

"Hmm…" Knockout mumbled as he eyed their weapons, "So kid, I have an idea… but you might not like it."

"What-?" Before Jack could finish asking, Knockout floored his gas pedal and sped towards Dreadwing and the Vehicons. "WHOA! Okay I _definitely_ don't like this plan!"

Seeing that Knockout had no intention of surrendering, Dreadwing lowered his cannon, "Open fire!" he commanded, and he and the Vehicons began unleashing a barrage of blaster fire down the hallway… just as Soundwave came around the corner.

Being in his vehicle form he was low and fast, so Knockout was easily able to swerve about and dodge the oncoming lasers. Soundwave, on the other hand, was a much larger target and almost immediately took a heavy hit from Dreadwing's cannon, sending him spiraling backwards and crashing to the ground.

Seeing he'd struck Soundwave, Dreadwing pulled his cannon up, "Soundwave! Are you-?" he broke off mid-sentence as Knockout zoomed between his legs and past him and the Vehicons. Spinning around, he lowered his cannon again and growled, "Decepticons! Destroy the traitor!"

As they began raining blaster fire towards him again, Knockout swiveled around to face them and activated the Resonance Blaster. The rain of lasers ceased almost immediately as the cannon fell from Dreadwing's grasp and he doubled over in pain, clutching at his helm and falling to his knees.

After what felt like ages, the painful throbbing in Dreadwing's audio receptors subsided and it was quiet again, save for the groans and whines of the Vehicons. He lifted his head out of his servos and glared down the hallway where Knockout had been a minute before. It was empty; Knockout had already disappeared around some distant corner.

Pushing himself up off his knees, Dreadwing looked around to the Vehicons collapsed around him, "On your feet, soldiers!" he commanded, "Knockout is getting away!"

The drones staggered about, tripping over each other as they tried to remain upright. Dreadwing sighed as he watched them awkwardly shuffle down the hall. He was still feeling somewhat dizzy himself as he turned and went back for Soundwave, even stumbling slightly as he approached the mech.

"Soundwave?" he offered as he got closer, "Are you online?"

Soundwave lifted his head slightly at the question as if it were obvious. Though actually, he hadn't been a moment ago. As his visuals came back up he noticed his visor now had the tiniest hint of a crack in the center; a ghost of the one it had before. Knockout's shoddy repair job; just one more thing he had to repay the medic for, as well as the nice new laser blasts he was sporting.

Dreadwing was telling him something but Soundwave hardly cared. He leapt to his feet and pushed past the first lieutenant, rushing down the hallway.

"Soundwave, wait!" Dreadwing called after him, "You're injured, you don't have to-" his voice faded as Soundwave transformed and blasted off down the hallway. Dreadwing didn't know- and he _couldn't_ know- that he did have to. Knockout needed to be terminated, and Soundwave needed to be the one to do it.

* * *

"Ha ha ha! Did you see Dreadwing's face?" Knockout cackled as he turned sharply around another corner, driving forwards again, " _Slag_ that felt good- I've been wanting to put that spawn of a glitch in his place since-"

"Uuurgh…" Jack interrupted Knockout's boasting with a groan; those latest spins along with executing Knockout's 'plan' were weighing hard on his stomach. "I think I'm gonna be sick…"

"HEY. Don't go spilling your nasty organic digestive fluids on my dash!" Knockout's voice lost the playfulness it had a moment ago and was stern again, "I can still change my mind about this whole _teamwork_ thing."

"No, no don't worry- I'm good." Jack choked back his nausea and held up a hand reassuringly.

"Hmm." Knockout didn't seem convinced but he continued anyway, "Alright… if we head down a few levels to the lower air hangar we'll be able to fly out of here… and hopefully without much resistance. They shouldn't be looking for us that far down."

Jack nodded glancing over at the red Autobot relic taking up the seat next to him; the thing just barely squeezed into the space allotted for it in Knockout's cabin. "Yeah… I sure hope this thing still works." he mumbled.

* * *

Arcee found herself fervently pacing in front of the groundbridge. She had her arms folded tightly across her chassis with one digit extended, ready to jump up to her comm link and answer an incoming call.

"Arcee-"

"What?" she spat out the word, not looking up or halting her pace.

"I think you should take a seat." Ratchet continued, a note of concern in his voice, "I know this is especially hard for you… but we need to try and remain calm-"

Arcee stopped and glared at the medic, "Knockout's abandoned Jack once already!" she snapped, "And now we don't even have a way of communicating with him?! And you think I need to-?" her sentence was cut off as she felt Optimus place a servo on her shoulder.

"What we _really_ need is to have faith in Jack." he said, meeting Arcee's optics with his own, "He has proven to us many times that he is capable of navigating himself and others through dangerous situations. We must believe he will come out of this one safely as well."

Optimus removed his servo from Arcee's shoulder and she nodded as the weight was lifted off, feeling a little bit of the emotional weight go with it. The Prime always knew just what to say, and of course he was right. Jack was hardly the kid she'd first met outside that burger joint anymore, and she did trust him to be safe… it was Knockout she didn't trust.

Suddenly the main computer came to life, emitting a string of low beeps, shattering the quiet moment and making all of them jump.

"Is that-?" Arcee asked hopefully.

"No, it's the proximity sensor." Ratchet replied, turning to the monitor. He accessed the main security cameras and a white sedan came into view, "Oh it's June." the dread apparent in his voice.

Arcee tensed up again. She supposed it had been too much to hope for that June would show up after Jack had been safely retrieved and she could avoid having to share this anxious waiting with her. There was a loud tire screech as the car came barreling down the entryway corridor and into the main room. The doors flew open the moment the car halted and June and Agent Fowler stepped out of the car.

"Sorry, 'Bots-" Fowler said closing his door, "I couldn't keep her away."

"If my son is in danger I need to be here so I know what's happening." June said fiercely, glaring at Fowler. Then she turned to Arcee, about to speak.

"Just a moment, June." Ratchet interjected, "We have new information about Jack's status."

Both June and Fowler looked quickly over to the medic, waiting to hear the news.

"We were able to make contact through Rafael's computer which was brought on board their warship." Ratchet explained, "It seems Jack has managed to… well… befriend, I suppose, one of the Decepticons. The two of them are making their way off the ship as we speak… unfortunately we lost contact with them a few minutes ago, but Jack is going to contact us again once he is out of range of the ship's shielding. Once he does we'll have his coordinates and we'll be able to bridge him back."

"So what we just wait?" June demanded, "Isn't there anything we can do to help them?"

"Not until we have the coordinates." Ratchet admitted solemnly.

June took a long, weighted breath and shook her head, "I can't believe this…" she grumbled, clutching her arms tight across her chest. Agent Fowler approached her and took hold of one of her arms.

"Come on now, June. Let's take a seat." he said, leading her over to the ramp and up towards the couch.

Arcee watched her walk over and quietly sit; folding her hands tightly in her lap. She wanted so badly to reach out, to say something, _anything_ comforting but she couldn't come up with any words. In fact, Optimus' reassurance earlier seemed almost empty when she looked at June; her eyes wide and her face lined with the worry of a mother who couldn't help her son…

The femme began silently making a list of all the things she would do to Knockout if he didn't come through… not just for Jack, but for June as well now.


	9. Chapter 9

"You think they've caught Knockout yet?"

"Nah, Megatron would've announced it or something so everyone'd know to stop looking."

Two Vehicons were standing guard just at the entryway to the lower air hangar. The bottom entrance to the ship was hardly used except for energon pick ups from the mines, and it was unbearably quiet besides the hum of the ship's engines.

After languishing in that silence for a few minutes, the first Vehicon spoke up again, "Uhh… maybe… do you think we're supposed to be looking for him too?"

"I don't think so- I mean we're on guard duty right now. We should prob'ly stay put."

"Yeah, I guess." The 'Con vented heavily and rocked back on the heels of his pedes, "-but nothing ever happens down here."

The other offered a concurring hum, and it descended into that awkward quietness again… Then the blast hit them. The Vehicons doubled over screaming as the hallway reverberated with the painful sound, ravaging their systems. Finally, the pair collapsed into a pile on the floor, whining and clutching at their helms. Had their audio receptors not been pounding from the attack, they would have heard the footfalls of Knockout approaching and the whirr of his buzz saw starting up.

Jack came around the corner, limping slightly and rolling the Autobot relic in front of him. He approached just as Knockout was stowing his saw. The 'Con glanced around and then opened the doorway into the hangar, "All clear- and we shouldn't have any more trouble down here in the hangar either."

"Any chance they called for back up?" Jack asked, eyeing the two dismembered Vehicons.

"Trust me, they didn't have a chance." Knockout turned back to the human and reached down, snatching up the relic, then stepped over the Vehicons and entered the hangar. "Now let's get the slag outta here."

Jack glanced down at the Vehicons once more, then followed Knockout as quickly as he could manage. Inside the hangar was mostly empty, which made sense considering the 'Cons were typically able to fly without needing a ship. Jack figured all the space in there was probably for falling into formations before taking off as a unit or something. Either way it wasn't really important what the room's function was; what mattered was they could get out through it. The fourth wall of the room appeared to be a large doorway, an airlock presumably, with a keypad along the side to access it.

"Okay, so how do you- uh… get that thing to work?" Jack asked pointing up at the disk Knockout was holding.

"That… is a good question." Knockout mumbled, shifting it over in his servos, "It's an _adapter_ , right? I might have to actually install the thing on my t-cog…"

"That sounds kinda complicated. Didn't Ratchet say it was used in emergencies?" Jack offered, "I doubt there'd be time for a surgery or something if it had to be used quickly."

"Good point." Knockout agreed, "Hmm… maybe it functions like the Apex Arm- AHH **!** "

As he spoke, he pressed the relic up against himself. Almost immediately, the white marks along the disk began to glow brighter and it suddenly turned in his grip, expanding and clamping down on the metal of his chassis. Knockout flinched and gave a short cry as the metal grips of the disk continued to expand wrapping around his torso, scraping painfully over his damaged side panels, and connecting behind him. The parts began grinding and clicking together to form a small turbine engine; then from each side of it the panels began clamping together and expanded outward to form two long wings, protruding out to the side from Knockout's back.

The 'Con stood perfectly still, his arms raised as the adapter ground to a halt. He looked to each side, seeing the wings now jutting from his back and hummed his approval. "Hmm… but how do I-?" Knockout clenched his servos, seeming to concentrate very hard on something. A moment later the engine now on his back gave a quick blast of heat as its turbines whirred to life.

"Whoa! The thing's wired itself right into my systems!" Knockout said, twisting his head around trying to catch a glimpse of the engine, then promptly looking back down tapping lightly on the metal Autobot symbol now displayed across his chassis. "Not bad for _Autobot_ tech I suppose."

"Alright, great! So you can fly now?"

"That is what a _jet_ mod does, isn't it?" Knockout lowered his servo for Jack to step into, "Come on, let's go already."

"Yeah. Okay… but uh… if you're not in vehicle mode- what about me?" Jack shrugged his shoulders, "I mean, not to put down my own species or anything, but the Insecticons weren't exactly wrong when they called me _squishy_ … at least relatively speaking."

"What's your point?"

"Well I might not be able to hang on very well considering the wind and the altitude." Jack continued, "So I guess, uh- just… you'll have to keep a tight grip on me is what I'm saying."

Knockout rolled his optics, letting out a sound somewhat like steam escaping, "Pshhh. You humans are delicate, huh? Can't even accommodate a little wind turbulence?"

"No not really." Jack mumbled, stepping into Knockout's open servo, "But, I mean, as long as you don't fly as recklessly as you drive I should be okay." he paused a moment, rubbing his head where he'd struck it on Knockout's window earlier. Then another thought occurred to him, "You… you DO know how to fly, right?"

"Of course **.** " Knockout scoffed, stepping towards the keypad near the airlock, "I wasn't always a _ground-pounder_."

"Oh… really?" Jack suddenly sounded intrigued, "I didn't realize you could change something like that. I mean I knew you guys could change your alt-forms and everything, but I figured you had to stick with either wings or wheels."

"Typically that's true, but being a seeker didn't really suit me. So I… Well.. this is hardly the time to go into that, I think." Knockout keyed in the last digit and the airlock doors slid open.

The two of them looked out at the expanse of Earth below them. There were clouds below them, obscuring the view slightly, but they were quite clearly flying a few thousand feet over a large expanse of empty grasslands. Knockout ventilated heavily, "Alright. Let's see how well I remember how to do this."

"Hang on." he looked back down to Jack in his servo, "Uhh m-maybe you could test to make sure that it works first? I mean, we are pretty high up and-"

As Jack spoke something else suddenly caught Knockout audio receptors, "Wait… wait _shut up_!" he interrupted, looking back. It was quiet again, except for the roaring of the wind from outside. Knockout was about to dismiss it, but then he heard it again: a distant, high pitched whistling emanating from the entryway. He hesitated for a moment as he tried to place the sound, but then he realized-

"Laserbeak!" he shouted, "Soundwave's found us!"

Not a moment after he'd said it, Laserbeak came zooming through the doorway to the hangar. He spotted them immediately and made a bee-line right at them with his lasers firing. Knockout rushed for the edge of the airlock, also raising his arm and firing the Resonance Blaster towards the mini-con. Laserbeak's wings fluttered as the sound hit him, and he dipped towards the ground. Knockout didn't wait to see if he went down completely; rather, he turned and, holding Jack tight and close to his chassis, he leapt out of the hangar.

As they fell to the Earth, Knockout glanced back to see if Laserbeak had followed them out. He hadn't. Not yet anyway. Turning back around, Knockout activated the adapter's engine and he suddenly jolted forward, slowly building momentum and stabilizing his altitude.

"So far so good." he mumbled. Then he looked down to Jack, whom he was still holding close to his chassis. The human was clutching at his digits and fearfully looking down towards the Earth. "We're out of the ship's shielding now. Are you going to call your Autobot friends, or what?" Knockout shouted over the wind.

"R-right!" Jack agreed. He was reluctant to release his grip along Knockout's digits, but regardless, he reached down into his pants pocket pulled out his cell phone to make the call.

* * *

Back at the base, Arcee had taken up her pacing again. Though rather than being in front of the groundbridge, she now took up the hallway entrance across the room. The couch June sat on was facing away from her and towards Ratchet and the computer, which made it the perfect spot. She pulled her optics away from the floor and dared a glance over at the human; luckily she was focused quite intently on looking forward at the computer.

Good. Being forced to wait like this was painful enough; she didn't think she would be able to bear it if June were staring at her with those worried eyes on top of everything else. Arcee looked down again, pulling her arms in tight.

Just as she was looking away, three distinct beeps came from the main computer. The attention in the room flew over to the console as Ratchet opened up communications, "Jack?!" he called, "Is that you?"

" _Good to hear you again, Ratchet!_ " the voice was somewhat obscured by the roar of wind in the background, but it was clearly Jack. " _We made it off the ship, could you send the groundbri-_ "

"JACK!"

June had rushed from the couch over to the edge of the platform by the computer, "Jack! Are you hurt?!" she called, "What's happening?"

" _Oh… oh geez you guys called my mom? I… Wha- …Y-you couldn't wait until I actually got back to-_ " Jack paused for a moment, when he spoke again his voice was less accusative, " _Uhh- no. No I'm not hurt, mom. I just-_ "

" _Could we speed this up?!_ " Knockout's voice came over the connection, " _We_ are _still in the middle of an escape here!"_

"Right! I've locked on to the signal from your phone, Jack." Ratchet continued. Across the screen was a ground map, and high above it and moving quickly was a little red dot indicating Jack and Knockout's position. "I can open the bridge for you, but it looks like you're pretty high up. It would be safer if you were closer to the ground first."

" _Safer how?_ "

"Such a sudden, extreme change in altitude could be harmful to Jack."

"Primus _, you humans can't even withstand minor changes in your own atmosphere?_ " Knockout sounded both exasperated and mildly amused by the idea, " _You really_ are _fragile. It's almost sad._ "

"Regardless of how you feel about it, that's the way it is." Ratchet snapped, "So get closer to the ground and I'll activate the bridge."

" _Alright alright. Let's make this quick though, I don't know if Laserbeak was-_ "

Suddenly the sound of blaster fire came over the connection.

" _OH_ SLAG _! SOUNDWAVE!_ "

" _Ratchet we need that bri- AAH! Oh scrap my phon-_ "

"Jack? …JACK?! Are you there?!"

There was no response.

"Ratchet, open the groundbridge!" Optimus commanded, stepping forward, "Jack needs our assistance."

Ratchet quickly reset the groundbridge coordinates to ground level and pulled the activation lever.

"Bumblebee, Arcee- with me!" Optimus transformed his servos to gun mode and rushed through the groundbridge.

Behind him Bumblebee let out an enthused whirr and ran after him. Arcee made to follow but was stopped by a voice behind her- "Arcee?"

The femme looked back to see June pressed up against the railing, her hands wrung and squeezing tight, "Please, I'm counting on you… bring him home."

Arcee gave a sharp nod, "I won't let you down, June." with that she hurried through the groundbridge.

* * *

"Oh man I can't believe I dropped my phone!" Jack clung tightly to Knockout's digits as he whirled through the air avoiding the rain of blaster fire, "I sure hope the 'Bots heard that we need some help."

"Well if they did they'd better hurry up! We're about to be blown out of the sky here." As he spoke Knockout flipped around onto his back and fired the Resonance Blaster towards Soundwave and Laserbeak. The two swerved to either side, avoiding the blast.

"Ugghh! Well this thing is practically useless against those two anyway!" Knockout whirled around again and tried reaching for his energon prod, only to find it trapped underneath the metal grip the jet mod had wrapped around his sides. "Scrap- and I can't get to my staff… We might be in trouble here, kid…"

"Wait look!" Jack shouted, pointing down at the ground. Down on the vast expanse of grassland just behind them, a glowing groundbridge portal appeared and three figures could be seen emerging from it. "It's the Autobots! Come on, that's our ticket out of here!"

"About time!" Knockout grumbled, then he veered around and took a sharp dive towards the ground, making a beeline for the Autobots and the portal. However, as he made his descent, Laserbeak suddenly dropped down right into his path and began firing on him again!

Knockout managed to roll to the right to avoid the blasts, but his maneuver was met by Soundwave slamming into him from the side, snapping off one of the wings and jarring Jack from his grasp.

Back on the ground, the three 'Bots watched in horror as Jack and Knockout went tumbling down through the air in the distance.

"JACK! NO!" Arcee leapt forwards, transforming into her vehicle mode, and raced towards where Jack was falling. It was a considerable distance, though, and she knew she wouldn't make it in time. Regardless, she sped on trying to get there before that fatal moment.

Behind her, Optimus and Bumblebee charged forward, firing to keep Soundwave at bay. Though the 'Con didn't seem too interested in interfering further: he retreated up into the clouds with Laserbeak to avoid the blaster fire, apparently content to let gravity finish Knockout for him.

As he fell, Knockout managed to stabilize himself, but the ground was approaching fast. With a missing wing landing safely wasn't an option anymore. Though, if he was lucky enough that the jet mod's engine was still working, he could angle himself so that a crash would cause the least amount of damage.

He tried activating the turbine again. For a moment there was no reaction, but after a few seconds it finally whirred back to life. After he got a quick start forward by the engine giving a few short bursts, he remembered Jack. The human was falling several yards away and flailing in a panic as he spiraled downwards. If the Autobots were worried he couldn't withstand atmospheric pressures there was no way the little fleshy thing could survive a fall like this.

Knockout spun back around and angled himself up towards Jack, activating the engine again. He jolted forward, extending his arms to grab the human.

"Gotcha!" Though just as he closed his servos around him, the turbine began sputtering out. Knockout glanced back over his shoulder at the damaged jet mod.

As the engine finally cut out and he tipped downward. "SCRAP!" Knockout shouted over the wind. At least the short burst had given him some forward momentum so they weren't dropping straight down anymore. All the same, this was hardly an ideal angle to be falling at. "Sorry, Jack." Knockout pulled the human closer, "Looks like this is going to be a bumpy landing."

Jack just stared ahead anxiously as the ground grew closer and closer. Finally he tore his eyes away and twisted around, bracing himself against Knockout's chassis. As they were about to crash, Knockout wrapped his servos protectively around Jack and spun around to land on his back.

He cried out in pain as he struck the ground, driving the remainder of the relic's engine into his spinal struts. His cry was quickly drowned out by the clashing of metal as the momentum carried him along, tumbling across the ground and kicking up dirt and grass. Finally he skid to a stop, still clutching his servos over his chassis but very clearly offline.

After a long moment of making sure he could still move, Jack slipped out from under the weight of Knockout's servos and rolled off the 'Con's side. Hitting the ground was almost too much for him, pain shot through his whole body forcing him to double over. His right arm in particular was absolutely searing in agony. However, as he stumbled forward, falling to his knees, he found himself starting to laugh.

"Ha… ha ha! HA HA HA- Oh wow! I'm… I'm _alive_?" he felt compelled to say it out loud just to make sure it was really, actually true, but yes. Jack was alive.

"JACK!"

He looked up to be greeted by the sight of a blue motorcycle zooming towards him across the plains. Jack couldn't recall a time when he'd been happier to see Arcee. He pushed himself off the ground with his left arm and started limping forward to meet her, but then stopped and looked back. Knockout still hadn't moved. Jack limped back over to the 'Con.

"Knockout, get up! We've gotta go!" Jack leaned forward, pushing all his weight against the medic's forearm trying to shake him, "Knockout? …KNOCKOUT!"

Just behind him he heard the whirrs and grinding of Arcee transforming to her robot mode. He turned around just in time to be snatched up. The femme then turned on her heel and sprinted back towards Optimus and Bumblebee, holding Jack tight.

"OW! Hey- hey WHOA!" Jack tried to twist around to free his arm from being painfully pinned against her servo. As he did he looked up and saw Soundwave had descended from the cloud cover again and was headed straight for them! He looked back down to Knockout and was relieved to see the mech had finally begun to stir. "Arcee _wait_!" he shouted, "What about-?"

"No way!" she interrupted, keeping her optics forward as she ran, "What matters is that I get you home!"

Optimus and Bumblebee had started firing at Soundwave as he flew closer, but the mech dodged all their fire easily. Just as Arcee ran past the two mechs through the groundbridge, Soundwave transformed and landed with a resounding thud on the ground about halfway between the Autobots and Knockout.

He turned and stared for a moment at the 'Bots. Optimus and Bee kept their blasters raised and prepared for his attack… but suddenly Soundwave turned his back to them and headed for Knockout instead.

" _BEEEEEPboooozzzzzzwhirrrrzzz zzz._ " Bumblebee mused with a tilt of his helm.

Optimus pulled his gun up, keeping his optics on Soundwave, "Well then he can have him." he replied, "Let's get back to base."

As the two Autobots turned and rushed through their portal, across the field Knockout finally came fully back online.

His first instinct was to roll off his back onto his side, trying to alleviate some of the agonizing pain radiating from where the jet turbine had dug into his backstruts. Onlining his optics, he was bombarded with damage warnings flashing across his vision. But through that he was able to make out the last few glimmers of the Autobots' groundbridge closing in the distance… and much closer than that was Soundwave making his way towards him.


	10. Chapter 10

"Jack?! _JACK_!"

As Arcee placed Jack down on the ground in the base, he was immediately accosted by June. His mother wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

"OW OW _OW_!" Jack pulled away grasping his right arm, "Careful, mom!"

"Oh no-" June reached forward to examine him, "Jack, your arm- is it _broken_?"

"I-I dunno. Maybe."

June pulled him into another hug, careful of his arm this time, " _Jackson Darby,_ just look at what happens to you when you don't listen to me! This whole situation is exactly why I didn't want you going on any more 'missions _._ '"

Jack was about to argue with her, but Arcee spoke up first, "She's right. Next time, you listen to your mom! If she says no more missions, I'm taking her side."

As June pulled back from her hug to look over his arm, the rest of the team came over to greet him as well.

"DUDE! You have to tell me _everything_! Don't spare any of the details-"

"-was lucky I showed you all about my laptop back in the woods!"

"-great job out there, son. Of course, we'll want to debrief you after you're all fixed up in case you saw anythi-"

"-still think you guys could have taken out the main power core again. That would've been awesome."

Jack pulled away from his mom, feeling suddenly overwhelmed, and stepped back from the group a bit. As he did Optimus and Bumblebee came through the groundbridge and Ratchet powered it down behind them.

"Hey… Hey Ratchet, wait-" Jack looked quickly from Ratchet to Optimus as the green glow faded from the portal, "Where's Knockout?"

It went quiet for a second after he asked, but finally Bulkhead chimed in, "Who cares?!" he exclaimed, "He's a _Decepticon_."

"Yeah, but he also saved my life!" Jack snapped.

"Geez, did you hit your head or something?" Miko leaned forward and knocked her fist against Jack's head lightly.

"Ow!" Jack pushed her hand away, "Th-that's hardly the point-"

"Come now Jack, be reasonable." Ratchet continued, "Just because it was convenient for him to help you out doesn't mean he's suddenly on our side."

"But it _wasn't_ convenient." Jack insisted, "He didn't have to come back for me but he did… And I think that earns him better than being left for Soundwave."

"Jack-"

"No, Arcee." Jack interrupted the femme, "We owe him."

"It's hardly worth risking the safety of the entire team by bringing a Decepticon into the base because you feel like you owe him, Jack." Ratchet said stepping forward.

Jack turned his gaze down for a long moment, then finally he looked to the Autobot leader, "Optimus, you always used to say that it's possible that anyone could redeem themselves- even a Decepticon. Well Knockout just showed me that he _can_ be redeemed… but we have to give him that chance! You almost made the wrong decision about Knockout once today. _Please_. Don't make the same mistake now."

Optimus didn't respond, but stood there quietly and looking very intently down at Jack. After a minute, he glanced around at his fellow Autobots to see them all looking expectantly at him… Then finally, he spoke, "Ratchet-" he said as he transformed his servo into a gun, "-reopen the groundbridge."

"Wha- Are you _kidding_ me?" Bulkhead groaned.

Ratchet hesitantly placed his servo on the groundbridge controls, "Optimus, I must express my _severe_ reservations about this…" he mumbled.

"Your concern is noted."

With a disapproving shake of his helm, Ratchet pulled the lever to activate the bridge.

Jack smiled as the green portal began to glow again, then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking back he saw June smiling at him, "Jack… I'm so proud of you, sweetie."

"Thanks, mom-"

"But you're still in trouble!" she was quick to add, pulling him into another careful hug.

Arcee watched quietly as Jack struggled against her hug, then turned and rushed after the Prime, "Hang on, Optimus!" she called, "I'm coming with you."

* * *

Knockout pushed himself up, trying to scramble back and away from the approaching mech. However, Soundwave seemed to be taking his time getting over to him, tilting his helm up triumphantly, unwinding his tentacles slowly.

Of _course_ the Autobots had just left him there! They probably just grabbed their human friend and took off… that is if the thing had even survived the fall… Either way, it was always going to be easier for them to just let him get scrapped by Soundwave than to actually have to deal with him, wasn't it? It had been stupid to trust them. He'd already been betrayed by the Decepticons. Why had he expected the Autobots to be any different?

So now he was injured and weak and on his own, being faced down by Soundwave yet again. His prospects for survival were not looking good… but that was no reason not to try.

Knockout raised his arm with the Resonance Blaster and fired, but it didn't power on. The device had sustained too much damage from the impact. He tried reaching for his staff, but it was still trapped beneath the jet mod's extensions. He tried to transform his servo into his buzz saw, but somehow he wasn't able to. Then he remembered what the 'Bots medic had said about the adapter interfering with transformation. So that applied to weapons too? No wonder they'd scrapped the technology.

He could try to get up and run, but the pain still shooting from his damaged spinal column made him think that even if he could manage to pull himself upright, he wouldn't make it very far.

Soundwave was almost upon him now. Knockout continued trying to slide away, glaring down at his chassis as he desperately clawed at the adapter looking for some way to deactivate the thing. As he fiddled with it, twisting it around and trying to pull it off, the remaining wing gave a slight twinge as though attempting to retract, but that was all. The relic had been too badly mangled to contract properly. He was stuck with it.

Knockout stopped struggling and turned his optics up. Soundwave was now standing directly over him, staring down with his blank visor.

"Soundwave…" he gasped, leaning away and raising one arm between them as a meager defense, "You… I-I mean- okay m-maybe we can talk about this-"

Soundwave lowered his helm, brandishing his injured tentacle, still leaking some energon, in front of him.

"Y-yes… I did do that- But to be fair, you _were_ trying to kill me at the time…"

Soundwave suddenly pitched himself forward, planting a pede hard on Knockout's chassis, forcing him down. His injured back pushed against the jet turbine making the medic cry out in pain. Soundwave then reached forward with his leaking tentacle and clamped it across Knockout's face, turning his helm and forcing the mech to look up at him.

Knockout grasped his servos around Soundwave's pede, trying and failing to lift him off and alleviate some of the weight pressing down on him. "No! Soundwave _please!_ " Knockout was begging now, "You've won already! J-just let me go- I won't tell Megatron about you and Laserbeak… H-he wouldn't believe me now anyways, right? You don't have to kill me!"

Soundwave tilted his helm slightly, as if actually considering his words. He then glanced at his other tentacle as the claws on the tip began to spin. While it was true at this point Megatron probably wouldn't believe any accusation Knockout had to raise, his relationship with his master was too important to even risk that small chance.

He moved his tentacle towards Knockout's chassis, centering it straight over his spark chamber, and began lowering it slowly, savoring the look of terror on the medic's face as he forced him to watch. Knockout shut his optics tight just as the tips of the claws were about to make contact. A quiet whimper escaped his vocalizer as the claw began just barely cutting into his exterior plating…

Then the sound of a groundbridge portal met his receptors, and a second later, blaster fire! Suddenly the weight on his chassis was relieved and the grip on his helm released. Knockout opened his optics and saw Soundwave had been thrown backwards off of him. He watched in shock as Soundwave was sent stumbling across the grass and toppled over rather ungracefully onto his back.

Catching some movement in the corner of his optic, he turned back around to see Optimus Prime standing over him where Soundwave had been moments ago. Without saying a word Optimus leaned forward, transformed his gun back into his servo, and extended it to Knockout.

For a moment Knockout just stared up at him, looking rather dumbfounded by this new turn of events. Finally, he lifted one servo, prepared to grasp Prime's… but he hesitated. His optics darted from the Prime's face to the open servo and back, expecting some kind of trick, but Optimus remained steadfast as Knockout reached for him. He was still uneasy though… Then he glanced over and noticed Soundwave starting to get up. That was enough to convince him- he reached forward, grasping Optimus' servo.

Optimus quickly yanked him up onto his pedes. The force pitched him forward and he nearly fell again, but Arcee darted in to catch him.

Behind them Soundwave was up again and staring at the three of them, as though he couldn't quite comprehend it himself. Optimus glanced back at Arcee, transforming his servo into his sword, "Arcee, get Knockout through the bridge-" he commanded, "I will hold off Soundwave."

Those words seemed to unfreeze Soundwave, and he lunged forward to attack. Optimus rushed forward to keep him at bay. As the two clashed, Arcee pulled Knockout back towards the groundbridge portal. However, Knockout found it hard to look away from the fight, still not entirely convinced it was actually happening. Honestly? Optimus Prime was fighting off Soundwave to protect _him_? How ridiculous did that sound?

"Knockout, come on!"

He finally tore his optics away from Prime and Soundwave and looked down at the femme helping him stand. "Oh… r-right…" he mumbled as he started forward.

Soundwave hesitated in his fight for a moment and looked towards Knockout. The groundbridge had opened at its coordinates from last time so it was still a ways off from them, but Arcee and the injured 'Con were steadily making their way towards it. And he didn't like that at all. It was about time this was finished.

He suddenly broke away from his fight with Optimus, catching the Prime off guard, then he lunged forward again swinging his arm out and sending him to the ground. Soundwave didn't waste time trying to finish him off, and instead spun around and bolted after Knockout.

"Arcee! Behind you!" Optimus shouted a warning.

Just as they began turning to face him, Soundwave thrust his tentacle forward and latched onto the jet mod's wing. Arcee barely managed to grab ahold of Knockout's arm to keep Soundwave from reeling him in, but the mech was still approaching fast.

As he got closer, Soundwave drew back his other tentacle to strike. Though just as he was about to make the fatal blow, the wing his other tentacle was grasping was snapped, breaking apart the rest of the device as well.

The sudden loss of his counter-balance threw Soundwave off and his attack missed Knockout completely as he stumbled to recover himself.

Knockout and Arcee were also thrown off by the sudden release, but Knockout realized this was probably his only opportunity to finish off Soundwave. And it turns out he had done him a favor by breaking the relic, because that meant he could actually fight back.

Planting a pede firmly on the ground, Knockout transformed one servo into his drill and pushed off of Arcee with the other. Soundwave was still reeling and didn't see the attack coming, so it was quite a surprise to him when suddenly he found Knockout right in front of him with his drill pulled back to strike. He caught himself just in time to pull away slightly, but it wasn't enough, and Knockout drove his drill straight through Laserbeak and into Soundwave's chassis.

They both remained quite still for a moment. Each not quite believing what had just happened. They weren't the only ones; Arcee and Optimus had both frozen in place as they watched on either side of the spectacle.

As energon began dripping down his drill, Knockout finally yanked it from Soundwave's chassis, pulling and snapping a few wires along with it. He stumbled back as Soundwave grasped at the hole in his frame, still shocked that this had happened…

Soundwave had held his own against Megatron himself; he had single-handedly destroyed entire squadrons of Autobots during the Great War; he was a legend- Feared by Autobots and Decepticons alike… and he had been defeated by this weak and injured medic?! No! That was impossible! He couldn't allow it to end this way!

Soundwave staggered forward, energon spouting from his wound, and drew his arm back to strike… but his legs wavered and he fell forward to his knees. Knockout backed away, glaring down at the mech as he bled out. Soundwave turned his helm up, meeting his gaze.

Arcee grabbed Knockout's arm to catch him as he continued stumbling backwards as Optimus circled around Soundwave and approached them, keeping one optic on Soundwave just in case. Knockout vented heavily, and glanced between the two Autobots for a second, then turned and allowed Arcee to lead him towards the groundbridge again.

" _This_ …"

Knockout stopped and turned his helm back.

"… _This_ … _isn't over_ …"

Knockout stared back at the mech for a minute. He had never heard Soundwave speak without using a recording… and he probably never would again. He said nothing in response, but turned back and continued with Arcee and Optimus Prime through the glowing green portal.

* * *

The groundbridge quickly powered down after the three stepped out into the base. Knockout took a moment and looked down at the large Autobot symbol under his feet before he turned his helm up to find the gaze of everyone in the room upon him. His first instinct at being surrounded by that many Autobots was to panic, but he forced that impulse back down.

"Hey, Knockout!" the 'Con looked down again and spotted the human was sitting on some equipment just across the room with a wide smile across his face, "Welcome to Outpost Omega One."

"Oh, Jack." Knockout said, "I wasn't sure you were still in one piece for awhile there. Nice to see I was wrong."

"Speaking of which, I think it's about time we got you to a hospital." Agent Fowler said, helping Jack to stand, "You made sure your new buddy was safe, now it's time to go."

"Ahh, yeah. That's not a bad idea." Jack mumbled as Fowler and June began shuffling him towards her car.

"Hmm, I… should probably leave too." Knockout said, glancing around the room again. Now that the initial panic had worn off he was starting to just feel _awkward_ being around the Autobots. He clearly didn't belong there. He turned his helm towards Ratchet, "So if you could just… I don't know, send me somewhere with your groundbridge. Preferably far away from that last set of coordinates-"

"Hang on-" Arcee cut in, "You want to wander off on your own while you're in _that_ shape?"

Knockout pushed himself off her to stand on his own, "I'll be fine."

"You can barely stand." Arcee gestured down to his trembling legs. While it was true he was having a hard time keeping himself upright, he wasn't about to admit that. "We didn't go through the trouble of saving your aft to let you wander off and get yourself killed. At _least_ stay long enough to let Ratchet fix you up. We owe you _that much_ for saving Jack."

"Don't involve me in this." Ratchet mumbled.

"I can take care of myself, thank you." Knockout said tossing a glare towards the other medic, "I can't imagine it could be beneficial to my health to be in your company for any prolonged period of time…"

While this argument was going on, Fowler and June helped Jack into the back of her car. Once he was safely in his seat, Fowler climbed into the passenger side and June circled around to get in as well. She paused as she opened her door though, "Just a moment, boys."

She closed her door again and approached the arguing bots calling out, "Hello, um, Knockout was it?"

Knockout turned to face her as she continued, "Hi. I'm June… Jack's mom." she said, placing a hand on her chest, "And well, I don't know exactly what happened out there, but I do know you played a big part in getting my son back home safely, so… Thank you. Jack is my whole world. I just… I can't imagine what I would do if one day he just _didn't come back_."

As she spoke Knockout's expression became much softer. After a quiet moment passed, he bent down on one knee and offered a pointed digit out to her, "Well, I'm glad that you didn't have to find out, June."

June smiled, taking ahold of the digit and shaking it. "Better get going." With that, she turned and trotted back towards her car.

Knockout watched as she got in and the car pulled off down the corridor. He turned his helm back down, giving a short, heavy ventilation, "I… suppose it wouldn't be the _worst_ thing if I were to stay…" he mumbled, "But only until I've been repaired." he added quickly.

"Of course." Arcee said, taking his arm and helping him up. "Come on, Ratchet-" she called to the medic as she helped Knockout over to the medical table, "You've got your work cut out for you over here."

Ratchet gave an uneasy glance over at Optimus who gave him a short nod. The medic gave a quiet, displeased grumble but didn't argue, and stepped over to help.

Bulkhead, who had been silently glaring at the 'Con since he came through the bridge, shuffled his way over to Prime, "Optimus-" he mumbled, "Are you really gonna just let this happen? He's a Decepticon. He shouldn't be in our base!"

Optimus nodded, "I understand your concern, Bulkhead." he said, watching as Ratchet ran a scanner over Knockout. "However, I believe that Knockout _has_ shown he is capable of change."

Bulkhead followed Optimus' gaze, glaring as Knockout laid down across the table so Ratchet could repair his spinal column. "Sooo- what then? You expect him to get soft all of a sudden and become an Autobot?! What's to stop him from bolting once he's fixed and becoming another thorn in our side like Starscream"

"Perhaps it is unlikely that Knockout will become our ally… but Jack was right. We must at least give him the opportunity."


	11. Epilogue

Soundwave onlined his visual receptors. His processor was running slowly, so it took him a little more than a minute to realize he was in the Nemesis medical bay… That was strange. He didn't remember being brought back here.

He turned his helm down to look at himself. He was hooked up to numerous life support cables and the gaping hole had a patch welded over it, though rather poorly welded. Laserbeak was missing from his usual place on his chassis. That's right, Knockout had injured his mini-con as well. He was probably being patched up in another part of the bay.

"Oh Officer Soundwave, you're online!" Soundwave looked back around to see a single Vehicon standing beside his berth and clutching a datapad. "I'm designation WY-05… Don't worry, you're safe now." he said meekly, then after a pause quickly added, "N-not that you'd be worried- I didn't mean to imply- uh… well…"

Soundwave just stared blankly up as WY-05 fumbled with the datapad for a moment while ventilating heavily, " _AHEM_ … What I meant was, my squadron has been assigned medical duty since- um… since… you know… Anyway **,** th-the damage to your chassis will take quite some time to heal properly… we'll just need you to stay in the med bay for awhile so we can keep an optic on you." He stepped back slightly, "I'll be just outside. If you need anything, please shou- er… um… well… get my attention somehow. WY-04 will be by in a few minutes to do a full scan to be sure there are no other problems with your systems."

 _Other problems?_ There was no need for the scan; Soundwave knew exactly what "problem" they would find… and he couldn't let _anyone_ know out about it.

As WY-05 stepped out of the room and the door shut behind him Soundwave immediately unwound his uninjured tentacle and stretched it across the room, latching onto the console next to the door. He opened a link to the computer, bringing up a list of his own internal coding… after scrolling through the long list he finally spotted it. He pulled up the file containing the Autobots' virus and a quick command on the console purged it from his system. Excellent! Now there was no tracing the virus back to him. The first chance he got he would have to do the same for Laserbeak.

He dissolved the link and reeled his tentacle back in just as the med bay doors opened and Megatron came striding into the room along with another Vehicon. Soundwave lowered his helm slightly as he approached, feeling both relieved to have the virus out of his system and also a bit ashamed to be in this state in front of his master. Especially since it was his fault Knockout had gotten away at all. However, it seemed as though Megatron were more concerned about the welfare of his communications officer, as he placed a servo on Soundwave's shoulder plate in a rare display of affection.

"Soundwave," Megatron began, "I don't know how that traitor Knockout managed to get the better of you, but your loyalty has not gone unnoticed. Please be assured that the Decepticons will not rest until we have captured him again…"

He paused. Soundwave took the opportunity to place his servo over his chassis where Laserbeak would have been, trying to mime that he'd like to see him.

Megatron didn't seem to quite get it though, as his optics dimmed sadly. "Yes… I am… very sorry to hear about Laserbeak."

Soundwave's helm perked up at the words. Hear _what_ about Laserbeak?

" _Lord Megatron!_ " The Vehicon stepped forward to interrupt him, "W-we hadn't told him yet about…"

 _TOLD HIM ABOUT_ WHAT _?!_

Soundwave pushed himself up, thrusting his tentacle forward, grabbing ahold of the Vehicon and shaking him, trying to make him finish the sentence.

"Soundwave, _please!_ " The Vehicon tried to pull the tentacle's claws off him, "Calm down! You're going to tear your-"

Soundwave wasn't listening. In a panic he tried to stand up, wanting to search for Laserbeak himself, and in the process pulling out the support cables from his chassis. The system monitors next to his berth began buzzing in alarm.

"Soundwave!" Megatron grabbed ahold of his third-in-command and forced him back down, but he struggled against the grip, twisting around and tearing the soft welds keeping his patch in place. Energon began streaming from his open wound again.

Megatron glared back at the Vehicon, still struggling to escape Soundwave's tentacle which he had somehow become entangled in.

" _Do something_ you useless scrapheap!" he commanded.

"WY-05! GET IN HERE, QUICK!"

The first Vehicon rushed in and helped the second out of the snare of the tentacle, then the two of them went to work fastening Soundwave down, with Megatron's help, and reattaching all the cables.

"Induce stasis so we can repair his welding."

Soundwave felt it a moment later as the circuit dampeners hit his systems. He still fought, trying to struggle against his bonds but much more slowly now. No! He needed to find Laserbeak! He was Soundwave's last surviving mini-con! It couldn't be… He refused to believe he was…

His thoughts drifted off as he lost his visual reception.

_Laserbeak…_

…

_Knockout would pay for this._


End file.
